THE  NEW  EDUCATOP^LinRARY 

An  abridged  sectional  edition  of  "  The  Encyclopaedia  and 
Dictionary  of  Education" 


PSYCHOLOGY 

IN 

EDUCATION 


LONDON 

SIR    ISAAC    PITMAN    &    SONS,    LTD. 
PARKER  STREET,  KINGSWAY,  W.C.2 

BATH,  MELBOURNE,  TORONTO,  NEW  YORK 
1922 


New  Educator's  Library 


NOW  READY 

IDEALS,  AIMS  AND  METHODS  IN  EDUCATION 
SOCIAL  ASPECTS  OF  EDUCATION 
PSYCHOLOGY  IN  EDUCATION 
EXPERIMENTAL     PSYCHOLOGY     AND     CHILD 

STUDY 
THE   TEACHING    OF     HISTORY  :     GENERAL, 

POLITICAL,  AND  SOCIAL 
THE      TEACHING      OF      GEOGRAPHY      AND 

ECONOMICS 

TRAINING  IN  DOMESTIC  WORK 
THE   TEACHING   OF   COMMERCIAL    SUBJECTS 

READY   SHORTLY 

TRAINING  IN  Music 

THE  TEACHING  OF  ART  AND  HANDICRAFTS 
THE  TEACHING  OF  ENGLISH 
EDUCATIONAL  PIONEERS  AND  REFORMERS 
TEACHING  AIDS  AND  APPARATUS 
MORAL  AND  RELIGIOUS  EDUCATION 
THE  TEACHING  OF  FOREIGN  LANGUAGES 
THE  TEACHING  OF  MATHEMATICS 
THE  TEACHING  OF  SCIENCE 

Other  volumes  in  preparation 
Uniform  in  cloth,  fcap  8vo,  2s.  Gd.  net. 


6 


PUBLISHER'S  FOREWORD 

The  New  Educator's  Library  presents  in  a 
convenient  form  that  is  likely  to  appeal  to  many 
specialist  teachers  and  others  whose  interest  lies 
in  a  select  few  of  the  aspects  of  Education  much 
of  the  subject  matter  of  The  Encyclopaedia  and 
Dictionary  of  Education  recently  issued  by  the 
Publishers  ;  in  fact,  the  scheme  is  due  in  great 
measure  to  the  suggestions  of  many  readers  of  the 
latter  work,  pointing  out  the  desirability  of  issuing 
in  sectional  form  the  authoritative  contributions 
on  the  various  subjects. 

It  is  hoped  that  these  little  books  embodying, 
as  they  do,  the  results  of  research  and  experience 
of  educationists  and  others  of  high  distinction  in 
their  subjects,  will  serve  a  really  useful  purpose 
to  teachers,  to  students,  and  to  many  others 
connected  with  or  interested  in  educational  matters. 


50141 


CONTENTS 


Section  Page 

I.      PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION  .  1 

II.      RECENT  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  GENERAL 

PSYCHOLOGY  ...  9 

III.  THE  NERVOUS  SYSTEM  AND  EDUCATION        14 

IV.  INTELLECTUAL      DEVELOPMENT 

THROUGH   THE   SENSES  .  .21 

V.      SENSE-TRAINING  .  .  .24 

VI.      INSTINCT  .  .  .  .27 

VII.      EMOTION  .  .  .  .31 

VIII.      INTELLECT  .  .  .  .34 

IX.  ATTENTION  .  .  .  .37 

X.  INTEREST  .  .  .  .43 

XI.  EFFORT  .  .  .  .46 

XII.  FATIGUE  .  .  .  .48 

XIII.  PERCEPTION         .  .  .  .54 

XIV.  APPERCEPTION  .  .  .58 
XV.  IMAGINATION      .                .                .  .62 

XVI.  EDUCATION   OF  THE   WILL         .  .          65 

XVII.  ASSOCIATION       .  .  .  .         69  ~ 

XVIII.  PSYCHOLOGY   OF  ASSOCIATION  .          73 

XIX.  SELF    AND    SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS          .          78 

XX.  INDIVIDUALITY  .  .  .81 

XXI.  EDUCATIONAL       ASPECTS       OF       SUB- 
CONSCIOUSNESS  .  .  .85 

XXII.  PSYCHOTHERAPY  .  .  .90 

XXIII.  DREAM  ANALYSIS  .  .  .94 

XXIV.  PSYCHO-ANALYSIS  .  .  .100 
XXV.  SOCIAL   PSYCHOLOGY     .                .  .104 

XXVI.  THE    RELATIONS    OF    ANALYTIC    AND 

GENETIC  TO  GENERAL  PSYCHOLOGY       109 


AUTHORS 


Section 

I.  PROF.  JOHN  ADAMS,  M.A.,  B.SC.,  LL.D. 

II.  JAMES   WELTON,    M.A.,    LL.D. 

III.  PROF.    D.    NOEL-PATON,    F.R.S.,    M.D.,    LL.D. 

IV.  J.    C.    FLUGEL,    B.A. 

V.  PROF.    E.    P.    CULVERWELL,    M.A. 

VI.  PROF.    C.    LLOYD    MORGAN,    F.R.S.,    D.SC. 

VII.  W.    G.    SLEIGHT,    M.A.,    D.LlTT. 

VIII.  MISS    A.    M.    BODKIN,    M.A. 

IX.  PROF.    H.    BOMPAS-SMITH,    M.A. 

X.  W.    G.    SLEIGHT,    M.A.,    D.LlTT. 

XI.  W.    G.    SLEIGHT,    M.A.,    D.LlTT. 

XII.  W.    B.    DRUMMOND,    M.A.,    F.R.C.P. 

XIII.  JAMES    WELTON,    M.A.,    LL.D. 

XIV.  B.    DUMVILLE,    M.A.,    F.C.P. 
XV.  PROF.    T.    P.    NUNN,    M.A.,    D.SC. 

XVI.  PROF.    H.    BOMPAS-SMITH,    M.A. 

XVII.  PROF.    H.    J.    W.    HETHERINGTON,    M.A. 

XVIII.  B.    DUMVILLE   M.A.,    F.C.P. 

XIX.  JAMES   WELTON,    M.A.,    D.LlTT. 

XX.  PROF.    A.    ROBINSON,    M.A.,    D.C.L. 

XXI.  PROF.    JOHN    ADAMS,    M.A.,    B.Sc.,    LL.D. 

XXII.  ERNEST    JONES,    M.D.,    M.R.C.P.,    D.P.H. 

XXIII.  DR.    ERNEST   JONES 

XXIV.  MISS    CONSTANCE   LONG,    M.D. 

XXV.  PROF.    E.    J.    URWICK,    M.A. 

XXVI.  JAMES    WELTON,    M.A.,    LL.D. 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN 
EDUCATION 


SECTION   I 
PSYCHOLOGY  IN  EDUCATION 

THE  Latin  Grammar  reminds  us  that  verbs  of 
teaching  govern  two  accusatives  :  one  of  the  person, 
another  of  the  thing.  Teachers  tend  to  lay  more 
stress  on  the  subject  taught  than  on  the  person,  but 
modern  educational  theory  emphasizes  the  claims  of 
the  person.  The  paidocentric  tendency — as  Dr. 
Stanley  Hall  names  this  directing  of  interest  to  the 
nature  of  the  pupil  and  to  the  pupil's  point  of  view — 
has  always  existed,  though  its  full  development 
belongs  to  quite  recent  times.  Plato  took  some 
account  of  the  various  qualities  of  the  pupil  that 
make  for  successful  educational  results ;  and  the 
English  educator,  Roger  Ascham,  in  his  Scholemaster, 
utilizes  the  Platonic  analysis.  Quintilian,  too,  in  his 
work  on  the  training  of  the  orator,  lays  some  stress 
on  the  personal  qualities  essential  in  those  who  are 
to  become  successful  public  speakers.  Thomas 
Fuller,  in  his  Holy  and  Profane  State,  includes 
among  the  qualities  of  the  good  schoolmaster  that 
"  he  studies  the  scholars'  natures  as  carefully  as 
they  their  books."  Rousseau's  educational  master- 
piece, the  £mile,  is  strongly  paidocentric;  and,  when 
we  reach  Pestalozzi,  we  find  the  demand  for  the 
study  of  the  pupil's  nature  expressed  in  the  saying 
that  it  is  necessary  to  psychologize  education.  It  is 
true  that  Pestalozzi  himself  knew  but  little  psy- 
chology; yet  his  point  of  view  was  received  with 
favour,  and  since  his  time  there  has  been  an 
increasing  tendency  to  regard  a  study  of  psychology 
as  an  essential  part  of  the  training  of  a  teacher. 
Till  quite  recently,  however,  there  has  been  little 

1 

2— (1128) 


2  PSYCHOLOGY    IN    EDUCATION 

real  application  of  psychology  to  the  work  of  the 
classroom.  In  text-books  for  students  in  training 
to  be  teachers,  there  used  to  be  a  section  at  the 
beginning  set  apart  for  psychological  theory,  while 
the  rest  of  the  volume  dealt  with  practical  matters. 
Psychology  and  teaching  were  both  represented, 
but  the  universal  complaint  was  that  they  were 
always  kept  separate;  they  were  like  oil  and  water, 
they  would  not  mix.  Of  late,  the  combination  has 
been  to  some  extent  effected.  Writers  on  the 
subject  no  longer  label  their  works  Psychology 
Applied  to  Education.  Professor  Welton  gave  a 
lead  by  entitling  his  work  The  Psychology  of 
Education.  (1911.) 

Practical  Use  of  Psychology  to  a  Teacher.  Curi- 
ously enough  it  is  the  professional  psychologist 
himself  who  feels  called  upon  to  give  a  warning 
about  the  teacher's  use  of  psychology.  Professor 
James  and  Professor  Miinsterberg  have  both 
counselled  teachers  not  to  expect  too  much  from 
this  subject.  James  told  them  that  all  the  psy- 
chology that  was  really  of  value  to  them  could 
be  written  on  the  palm  of  the  hand,  while  Miinster- 
berg assured  them  that  there  never  was  a  teacher 
who  would  have  taught  differently  had  the  seat  of 
intelligence  been  the  liver  instead  of  the  brain. 
The  teacher  was,  in  fact,  warned  off  the  psycho- 
logical domain,  and  recommended  to  stick  to  his 
own  business. 

But  Pestalozzi  was  right,  though  what  he  meant 
by  psychology  was  something  quite  different  from 
what  would  satisfy  Miinsterberg.  There  is  a  popular 
and  a  technical  psychology.  It  is  sometimes  said 
that  we  are  all  psychologists  more  or  less.  The 
element  of  truth  in  this  is  that  we  have  all  to  deal 
with  human  nature  in  some  form  or  other,  and  have 
accordingly  to  dabble  in  what  is  the  subject-matter 
of  psychology.  But  it  does  not  follow  that  we  are 
psychologists  in  the  technical  sense.  The  point  of 
view  is  the  determining  feature.  The  auctioneer 
studies  human  nature  in  order  to  learn  how  to 
stimulate  bids;  he  is  not  interested  in  mental  pro- 
cesses, but  in  practical  results.  The  psychologist 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION  3 

on  the  other  hand,  studies  mental  processes  as  such, 
and  has  no  interest  in  the  material  results  of  those 
processes.  A  train  of  thought  has  the  same  value 
for  him  whether  it  results  in  the  liberation  of  the 
slaves  or  the  burning  of  Rome.  Herein  lies  the 
teacher's  danger.  It  is  wise  to  warn  teachers  against 
studying  the  pupil  as  a  mere  specimen.  The  living 
child  here  and  now  present  is  what  must  occupy 
the  focus  of  their  attention.  Teaching  is  a  vital 
process  in  which  there  is  a  vigorous  give-and-take 
between  personalities.  Psychology  is  the  cold- 
blooded scientific  study  of  mental  and  spiritual 
reactions. 

This  scientific  attitude  is  the  one  thing  about 
which  psychologists  are  agreed.  In  the  definition 
of  their  study,  they  are  unanimous  as  far  as  "  Psy- 
chology is  the  science  of  ..."  But  there  differ- 
ences arise.  Many  writers,  who  are  fond  of  peace, 
are  willing  to  finish  the  phrase  with  the  word 
"  mind,"  on  the  understanding  that  this  term 
includes  all  the  spiritual,  or  at  any  rate  non- 
material,  nature  of  man.  Some  would  prefer  to  use 
the  word  "  soul  "  taken  in  practically  the  same 
sense.  Others,  again,  would  like  to  make  psychology 
the  science  of  consciousness,  since  this  is  the  element 
that  forms  the  real  subject-matter  of  psychological 
investigation.  Some  present-day  writers,  impressed 
by  the  importance  of  subconscious  or  even  uncon- 
scious spiritual  process,  wish  to  get  rid  of  the  word 
consciousness  altogether  in  the  definition,  and  pro- 
pose to  call  psychology  the  science  of  behaviour. 
To  the  teacher  there  is  something  very  attractive 
in  this  definition.  It  offers  possibilities  pf  help  that 
were  absent  from  the  old  psychology. 

For  the  teacher  the  old  psychology  had  one  great 
defect;  it  confined  itself  to  the  study  of  the  mature 
human  being.  It  studied  man  on  the  spiritual  side 
very  much  as  the  old  natural  histories  did  on  the 
physical.  Its  methods  were  markedly  static.  The 
human  nature  studied  was  regarded  as  the  subject 
on  the  table  is  regarded  by  the  anatomist.  For  the 
teacher,  the  result  was  disastrous.  He  studied  the 
psychology  of  the  mature  mind  and  straightway 


4  PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

applied  his  results  to  the  developing  minds  of  his 
pupils.  A  most  dangerous  fallacy  is  wrapped  up  in 
the  saying  that  a  boy  is  a  little  man.  He  is  potential 
man,  if  you  like;  he  is  man  in  the  making;  but  he  is 
no  more  a  little  man  than  a  tadpole  is  a  little  frog, 
or  a  grub  a  little  butterfly.  Psychologists  recognized 
this  when  they  labelled  one  aspect  of  their  study 
genetic  psychology,  the  psychology  of  growth  or 
development.  The  child  has  come  to  his  own  as  a 
subject  of  study,  but  he  may  be  treated  from  two 
totally  different  standpoints.  His  nature  may  be 
investigated  so  as  to  discover  his  qualities  in  order 
to  help  us  in  manipulating  them,  or  in  order  that 
by  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  his  present  state  we 
may  learn  more  about  the  nature  of  man  as  a  whole. 
Treated  from  the  second  point  of  view,  he  supplies 
matter  for  the  prosecution  of  purely  psychological 
research.  With  this  the  teacher  has  no  special  con- 
cern. But,  when  treated  from  the  first  standpoint, 
the  child  forms  the  material  of  what  is  popularly 
known  as  Child  Study,  a  subject  that  is  obviously 
of  great  practical  importance  to  the  teacher.  But 
professional  psychologists  are  at  hand  with  grim 
warnings  about  the  futilities  that  too  often  accom- 
pany the  direct  study  of  children.  It  cannot  be 
denied  that  a  great  deal  of  time  has  been  spent  in 
investigations  that  have  only  a  sentimental  value, 
and  that  statistics  have  been  used  to  produce 
results  that  have  no  real  significance  for  education. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  the  intelligent  study  of 
children  cannot  but  help  the  teacher.  So  far  from 
warning  him  off  child  study,  the  professional 
psychologists  ought  to  give  him  some  guidance  in  the 
methods  he  should  adopt  in  prosecuting  that  study. 
Attitude  of  Approach,  Obviously  the  teacher  must 
avoid  the  static  methods  of  the  old  psychology, 
must  give  up  the  natural  history  plan.  Within  the 
period  of  childhood  itself  there  is  plenty  of  develop- 
ment, so  Child  Study  must  be  treated  genetically. 
This  becomes  clear  when  we  examine  a  book  like 
Professor  Clapardde's  Psychologie  de  I' Enfant,  in 
which  we  find  the  different  periods  of  childhood 
carefully  marked  off  from  one  another.  The  very 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION  5 

title  of  Claparede's  book  implies  the  real  point  of 
the  professional  psychologist's  criticism  of  Child 
Study.  If  we  call  it  Child  Psychology  we  recognize 
that  it  is  carried  on  in  a  scientific  way;  and  it  will 
not  do  to  criticize  teachers  for  foolish  methods  of 
Child  Study,  and  at  the  same  time  warn  them  off 
from  the  field  of  psychology.  What  is  wanted  is 
that  teachers  should  conduct  their  work  and  their 
studies  in  such  a  way  as  to  get  the  best  practical 
results,  without  losing  touch  with  the  human  side 
of  their  pupils. 

In  another  direction,  the  newer  developments  of 
psychology  have  increased  the  value  of  the  subject 
to  teachers.  Formerly  the  science  confined  itself 
to  the  study  of  the  human  individual.  Recently  it 
has  extended  its  range,  and  takes  account  of  the 
interaction  of  individuals  upon  one  another.  This 
new  branch,  known  sometimes  as  Social  Psychology, 
sometimes  as  Collective  Psychology,  has  obviously 
great  attractions  for  the  teacher.  Even  in  the 
training  of  an  individual  pupil,  as  in  the  case  of 
Rousseau's  £mile,  the  teacher  depends  largely  on 
the  interactions  set  up  between  the  pupil  and  those 
around  him.  But  the  ordinary  professional  teacher 
has  a  very  special  claim  on  collective  psychology, 
for  most  of  his  work  is  carried  on  by  means  of  classes 
— and  a  class  is  a  collective  psychological  unit,  a 
more  or  less  homogeneous  crowd.  The  psychology 
of  the  class  is  only  now  beginning  to  be  studied,  but 
the  professional  teacher  is  entitled  to  hope  for  much 
practical  help  when  the  subject  is  developed. 

The  Place  of  Experimental  Psychology.  In  another 
direction,  the  opening  up  of  psychology  promises 
great  things  to  the  teacher.  Experiment  has  always 
been,  to  some  extent,  associated  with  the  study; 
but,  in  the  past,  more  has  been  done  in  the  way  of 
observation,  largely  introspective.  In  what  is  now 
called  Experimental  Psychology,  we  have  practically 
a  new  field  in  which  all  the  resources  of  brass  instru- 
ments and  statistics  are  utilized.  Some  of  the 
results  obtained  with  the  ergograph,  the  aesthesio- 
meter,  and  the  tachistoscope  are  regarded  with 
suspicion;  and  there  are  those  who  feel  inclined  to 


6          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

question  the  basis  on  which  statistics  are  manipu- 
lated by  the  formulae  of  Correlation.  But  there 
can  be  no  doubt  that  the  newer  methods  have  the 
great  advantage  of  dealing  categorically  with  defi- 
nite points  of  practical  importance.  Binet's  intel- 
ligence tests,  for  example,  are  of  the  utmost  con- 
sequence to  practical  teachers.  They  are  at  pre- 
sent in  a  very  incomplete  state,  and  are  subject  to 
a  perfect  hail  of  criticism.  But,  as  this  is  accom- 
panied by  series  of  testing  experiments  all  over  the 
world,  we  are  being  put  into  exactly  the  most 
favourable  position  for  finding  the  truth.  Already 
very  useful  results  have  been  obtained  in  connec- 
tion with  the  memory,  with  fatigue,  with  associa- 
tion in  its  various  forms;  and  there  is  every  reason 
to  hope  for  still  better  results.  The  great  charm  of 
the  experimental  method  is  that  teachers  can  put 
practical  questions  to  the  professional  psychologist, 
and  wait  for  a  reply  without  themselves  dabbling 
in  matters  and  methods  beyond  their  range. 

The  Correlation  of  Psychology  and  Education. 
The  suggestion  is  frequently  made  that  between 
the  practical  teacher  and  the  professional  psychol- 
ogist there  should  arise  an  intermediary  who  is  a 
competent  psychologist  and  has  had  sufficient 
experience  as  a  practical  teacher.  His  business 
would  be  to  keep  abreast  of  all  the  modern  develop- 
ments of  psychology  and  to  extract  from  the  results 
whatever  facts  bear  a  practical  relation  to  the  work 
of  the  school.  To  some  extent  this  functionary 
already  exists  in  the  persons  of  those  members  of 
the  staffs  of  training  colleges  who  are  called  masters 
and  mistresses  of  method.  No  doubt  in  the  past 
these  functionaries  were  more  qualified  on  the 
scholastic  side  than  on  the  psychological,  but  the 
newer  representatives  of  the  class  have  all  had  a 
technical  training  on  the  psychological  side.  At 
any  rate,  they  are  thoroughly  capable  of  mediating 
between  psychology  and  education.  Their  work  at 
present,  however,  is  with  the  young  teachers  who 
are  undergoing  training.  The  great  mass  of  the 
profession  is  at  present  uncared  for,  except  in  so 
far  as  some  of  the  teachers  study  psychology  and 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN    EDUCATION  7 

try  to  apply  it  in  their  work.  The  question  naturally 
arises  why  should  not  practical  teachers  study 
psychology  directly,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  being 
able  to  follow  and  understand  all  the  newer  develop- 
ments ?  No  doubt  a  great  deal  of  the  work  of 
modern  psychology  has  no  direct  bearing  upon 
educational  work,  and  can  be  quite  wisely  ignored 
by  the  practical  teacher.  But,  in  order  to  be  able 
to  discriminate  between  what  is  useful  and  what 
is  not,  the  teacher  should  have  some  first-hand 
knowledge  of  psychology.  He  will  not  ask  impos- 
sibilities of  the  brass  instruments  if  he  knows  the 
principles  on  which  they  are  worked. 

The  correlation  between  education  and  psy- 
chology is,  in  fact,  being  made  by  the  develop- 
ment of  what  is  called  Experimental  Pedagogy. 
Meumann,  in  Germany,  has  done  pioneer  work  in 
this  subject,  and  a  good  deal  is  being  done  both  in 
England  and  America  on  the  same  lines.  If  one 
turns  to  a  book  like  Dr.  Rusk's  Experimental 
Education,  or  to  The  Journal  of  Experimental 
Pedagogy,  one  will  see  how  closely  the  psychological 
and  the  purely  educational  are  linked  together. 
Formerly,  we  have  seen,  the  difficulty  was  to  bring 
the  two  into  contact.  The  modern  difficulty  is  to 
separate  the  sphere  of  the  one  from  that  of  the 
other — not  that  there  would  be  any  advantage  in 
separating  them,  if  it  were  possible. 

The  one  danger  is  that  the  teacher  may  acquire 
the  heartless  scientific  attitude  and  regard  his  pupils 
as  mere  raw  material  for  psychological  study;  but, 
after  all,  the  nature  of  things  secures  most  of  us 
against  such  a  lapse.  No  man  can  teach  and  psy- 
chologize at  the  same  time.  Once  he  gets  before 
his  class,  he  has  to  deal  with  individual  human 
beings  who  insist  upon  being  treated  as  such.  It  is 
sometimes  said  that  what  happens  with  young 
teachers  in  training  is  that  their  minds  are  stuffed 
with  psychology,  while  they  are  admonished  that 
when  they  find  themselves  face  to  face  with  a  class 
they  must  forget  all  about  it.  The  quip  is  not 
without  point.  But  it  may  be  accepted  by  the 
trainer  without  any  qualms.  It  is  true  that  the 


8  PSYCHOLOGY  IN  EDUCATION 

teacher  must  not  carry  his  psychology  with  him 
consciously  into  the  classroom.  But  he  cannot  rid 
himself  of  his  psychological  lore  by  merely  giving 
himself  up  to  the  needs  of  the  moment.  He  comes 
before  his  class  with  a  paid-up  capital  of  reactions 
acquired  under  the  direction  of  the  psychological 
knowledge  he  has  acquired.  He  is  not  thinking  of 
psychology  when  he  is  teaching,  but  he  is  teaching 
in  a  particular  way,  and  not  otherwise,  because  of 
the  psychology  he  has  already  mastered. 

References — 

ADAMS,    J.     The     Herbartian    Psychology    applied    to 

Education. 

BINET,  ALFRED.  Les  I  dees  Modernes  sur  les  Enfants. 
CLAPAREDE,  E.  Psychologic  de  V  Enfant  (English 

translation,  Edward  Arnold). 
DRUMMOND,  W.  B.      Introduction  to   Child  Study  (Ed. 

Arnold). 

HALL,  G.  STANLEY.  Adolescence.  Educational  Problems. 
HAYWARD,  F.  H.  Day  and  Evening  Schools,  pages 

564-571.     (For  the  Correlation  Formulae:) 
JAMES,  W.     Talks  to  Teachers  on  Psychology. 
LE     BON,      GUSTAVE.       Psychologic     de     V  Education. 

Psychology  of  the  Crowd. 
MORGAN,  LLOYD.     Psychology  for  Teachers. 
MACDOUGALL,  W.     Social  Psychology. 
MEUMANN,    E.      Vorlesungen    zur    Einfuhrung    in    die 

Experimentelle  Pddagogik  (Leipzig.) 
MEYERS,  C.  S.     Text-book  of  Experimental  Psychology. 

He  has  an  excellent  little  Introduction  to  the  subject 

in  the  Cambridge  Shilling  Manuals  Series. 
MUNSTERBERG,  H.     Psychology  and  the   Teacher. 
NUNN,  T.  P.     Education:   Its  Data  and  First  Principles 

(Ed.  Arnold). 

RUSK,  R.  R.      Introduction  to  Experimental  Education. 
SPEARMAN,  C.     "  The   Foot-Rule   for  Measuring  Corre- 
lation" in   British  Journal  of  Psychology.      Vol.  II, 

Part  1,  July,  1906. 

TERMAN,  L.  M.     The  Measurement  of  Intelligence. 
THORNDIKE,  E.  L.     Educational  Psychology. 
URWICK,  W.  E.     The  Child's  Mind. 
WELTON,  J.     The  Psychology  of  Education. 
WEST,  MICHAEL.     Education  and  Psychology. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION   II 

RECENT  DEVELOPMENTS  OF  GENERAL 
PSYCHOLOGY 

THE  doctrine  of  evolution  changed  the  point  of 
view  from  which  all  living  beings  were  once 
regarded.  The  concept  of  immutability  of  type  gave 
place  to  that  of  constant  development  towards  a 
type  more  perfectly  adapted  to  the  life  it  has  to 
lead.  The  movement  influenced  psychology  later 
than  the  biological  sciences,  but  its  influence  has 
transformed  the  conception  of  psychical  life  as  fully 
as  that  of  bodily  life. 

Sixty  years  ago,  psychologists  generally  regarded 
then:  task  as  essentially  finished.  They  had  carried 
out  with  much  thoroughness  the  analysis  of  the 
structure  of  their  own  minds,  and  they  accounted 
for  that  structure  by  a  thorough-going  application 
of  the  doctrine  of  the  association  of  ideas.  The 
leading  characteristics  of  this  psychology  were  its 
individualistic  outlook,  its  assumption  that  intelli- 
gence is  the  leading  factor  in  psychical  life,  and  its 
articulation  of  that  life  by  mechanical  relations. 
Equally  marked  were  the  individualistic,  intel- 
lectualist,  and  mechanical  aspects  of  the  psychology 
of  Herbart,  which  reduced  psychical  life  to  the 
interaction  of  idea-forces,  which  were  the  repre- 
sentatives in  consciousness  of  external  things.  The 
natural  effects  of  such  theories  on  education  were  a 
belief  in  its  omnipotence,  an  exaggeration  of  the 
part  played  in  it  by  instruction,  an  identification  of 
learning  with  accumulation  of  facts. 

At  the  same  time,  the  older  doctrine  of  faculties, 
though  theoretically  inconsistent  with  that  of 
associationism  or  Herbartianism,  furnished  the 
accepted  criterion  of  the  educational  value  of 
subjects  of  instruction.  While  most  professed 
psychologists  were  disciples  of  some  form  of 
psychical  mechanism,  teachers  commonly,  both  in 
their  theory  and  in  their  practice,  held  together 


10          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

incompatible  shreds  of  both  that  theory  and  the 
theory  of  faculties. 

These  theories,  however,  agreed  in  this,  that  the 
mechanism  and  the  faculties  were  each  deduced 
not  only  from  adult  life  but  from  the  life  of  philo- 
sophical thinkers.  Neither  theory  saw  any  need  for 
a  separate  study  of  the  psychical  life  of  the  young. 
Each  assumed  that,  the  more  perfect  the  life 
analysed,  the  more  complete  and  accurate  must 
be  the  results  attained. 

The  coming  of  evolution  has  introduced,  funda- 
mental changes  of  conception  which  have  led  to  a 
great  enrichment  of  the  study,  a  vast  enlargement 
of  its  scope,  and  is  bringing  about  a  franker  accept- 
ance of  the  testimony  of  consciousness  to  its  own 
nature.  This  movement  is  of  necessity  correlated 
with  the  general  philosophical  reaction  against  the 
arid  materialism  of  the  later  eighteenth  and  most 
of  the  nineteenth  centuries.  The  need  for  know- 
ledge of  origins  led  to  the  initiation  of  the  study  of 
children,  of  primitive  races,  and  of  the  lower  animals. 
The  conceptions  appropriate  to  the  understanding 
of  each  class  were  sought  in  those  lives,  and 
not  assumed  to  be  those  which  the  traditional 
psychology  set  up  as  typical  and  normal. 

New  Methods.  The  new  demand  has  necessarily 
led  to  new  methods.  Children  are  being  studied 
intensively  as  individuals,  and  extensively  by 
observation  in  the  mass,  and  each  method  promises 
valuable  results.  In  this  enlargement  of  method, 
also,  psychology  followed  the  lead  of  biology.  The 
evidence  for  biological  evolution  was  gathered  from 
observations  of  considerable  extent,  and  that  for 
psychological  evolution  must  be  sought  outside  the 
consciousness  of  the  individual  psychologist.  So 
introspection  was  found  inadequate,  and  observa- 
tion of  the  manifestations  of  the  psychical  lives  of 
others  was  seen  to  be  necessary.  For  a  time,  there 
was  a  tendency  to  make  this  substitution  too 
thorough-going.  After  all,  introspection  is  the  only 
direct  source  of  knowledge  of  the  psychical  life,  and 
so  must  give  the  one  available  clue  to  the  mysteries 
of  another  life.  Objective  methods,  then,  are 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          11 

supplementary  to  introspection,  and  are  indispensable 
to  any  knowledge  that  deserves  to  be  called  scien- 
tific, for  nothing  is  more  unscientific  than  to  general- 
ize one's  own  observed  adult  life  as  descriptive  of 
that  of  all  other  human  beings,  or  even  as  the  norm 
to  which  all  other  lives  approximate  in  proportion 
to  their  perfection.  But  they  rest  on  a  basis  of 
introspection  and,  therefore,  call  for  more  exact 
introspection  than  was  demanded  when  it  had  to 
serve  as  interpreter  only  to  itself. 

Further,  in  all  methods  of  external  observation, 
more  or  less  complete  precautions  can  be  taken  to 
secure  certain  definite  conditions:  this  is  experiment, 
and  experiment  in  many  forms  marks  the  new 
movement  in  psychology.  For  a  time  there  was  a 
tendency  to  assume  that  experiments  really  physio- 
logical would  yield  psychological  knowledge.  "  A 
psychology  without  a  soul  "  has  ever  been  the  dream 
of  the  materialist.  The  results  were  disappointing, 
and  such  methods  have  been  largely  replaced  by 
others  of  a  more  definitely  psychological  character. 
Many  problems  of  educational  importance  are  being 
thus  attacked,  such  as  the  testing  of  general  intelli- 
gence, the  transference  of  power  to  a  department 
of  activity  other  than  that  in  which  it  was  acquired, 
the  conditions  of  attention,  the  natural  forms  of 
various  processes  of  acquirement,  the  inducement 
of  fatigue. 

Study  of  individuals  in  the  mass  could  not  remain 
individualistic,  and  the  evolutionary  hypothesis  of 
natural  selection  emphasized  the  importance  for 
life  of  the  relations  of  the  individual  with  his 
environment.  In  genetic  psychology,  the  same 
point  came  out  yet  more  clearly.  Children  were 
seen  to  take  up  into  their  own  mental  lives  the 
characteristic  features  of  the  psychical  life  of  the 
family,  the  lives  of  savages  were  found  to  be 
governed  by  tribal  ideas.  So  the  need  for  studying 
psychical  life  in  the  community  as  well  as  in  the 
individual  became  apparent.  Thus  has  arisen  social 
psychology,  a  study  still  in  its  infancy,  but  which 
has  already  revolutionized  traditional  views  of  the 
nature  both  of  the  individual  and  of  the  community. 


12          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

A  theory  of  the  origin  of  the  latter  from  an  aggrega- 
tion of  the  former  is  no  longer  tenable;  an  individual 
separated  from  a  community  is  seen  to  be  a  mere 
abstraction  of  thought,  as  devoid  of  reality  as  a 
community  in  which  were  no  individuals.  Every 
community  has  its  psychical  life,  and  that  life  is 
focused  in  one  way  or  another  in  the  life  of  each 
of  its  members.  But  neither  community  nor  indi- 
vidual is  possible  apart  from  the  other. 

Changes  in  Fundamental  Conception.  The  changes 
of  view  and  method  imply  further  a  changed  con- 
ception of  the  fundamental  nature  of  psychical  life. 
Evolution  sees  life  as  a  striving  through  difficulties 
towards  a  goal,  even  though  that  goal  may  not  be 
consciously  apprehended  by  the  individuals  in  whom 
the  life  is  manifested.  The  passive  mind  of  the  pre- 
sentationist  psychologist  is  incompatible  with  such 
a  conception.  And  with  it  goes  the  over-emphasis 
on  the  intellect  as  the  ruler  of  life.  Conation  and 
feeling  come  by  their  own,  and  are  recognized  as 
fundamental,  and  not  mere  by-products  of  the  play 
of  ideas.  Thus  the  newer  psychology  is  much  more 
cognate  than  was  the  older  psychology  with  real 
life  as  we  know  it,  for  in  that,  certainly,  few  find 
intellect  the  constant  ruler.  It  involves,  of  course, 
a  reversion  to  the  earlier  conception  of  life  as 
essentially  functional,  which  found  expression  in  all 
forms  of  the  doctrine  of  faculties;  but  it  is  a  return 
with  a  difference,  for  now  the  dynamic  force  known 
as  life  is  derived  from  the  lives  of  its  ancestors,  and 
has,  therefore,  an  innate  particular  nature,  which, 
and  only  which,  can  find  expression  in  actual  life. 
External  influences  can,  therefore,  no  longer  be 
regarded  as  all-powerful  in  training  a  child,  and  one 
of  the  most  important  problems  both  of  psychology 
and  of  education  is  to  determine  the  part  which 
such  influences  can  play  in  modifying  inherited 
nature.  But  that  nature  itself  as  self -directed 
activity  is  the  fundamental  fact  for  education. 

References — 

ADAMS,  J.     The  Plerbartian  Psychology. 
DRUMMOND,  W.  B.      An  Introduction  to  Child  Study. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION  13 

HOBHOUSE,  L.  T.     Mind  in  Evolution. 

KIRKPATRICK,  E.  A.     Fundamentals  of  Child  Study  (New 

York). 

McDouGALL,  W.     An  Introduction  to  Social  Psychology. 
REID,  G.  A.     The  Laws  of  Heredity. 
SANDIFORD,  P.     The  Mental  and  Physical  Life  of  School 

Children. 
TITCHENER,  E.  B.   Experimental  Psychology  (New  York). 

Two   Vols.,   each   two    Parts:    (i)  Student's  Manual; 

(ii)  Instructor's  Manual. 


14          PSYCHOLOGY   IN    EDUCATION 


SECTION   III 
THE  NERVOUS  SYSTEM  AND  EDUCATION 

EDUCATION  may  be  defined  as  the  attempt  to 
develop  in  the  individual  the  most  perfect  relations 
with  his  or  her  environment  in  place  and  time.  In  its 
simplest  form,  such  co-relation  implies  the  appro- 
priate response  to  any  immediate  change  in  the 
surroundings;  and,  in  its  more  complex  form,  the 
adaptation  of  mental  activity  to  more  complicated 
series  of  changes.  Alike  in  the  simplest  and  in  the 
most  complex  forms,  the  action  of  the  brain  is 
essential:  it  is  that  which  must  be  trained.  What- 
ever view  may  be  adopted  of  the  nature  of  the 
relationship  of  the  consciousness  and  of  the  mind 
to  the  brain,  the  evidence  appears  conclusive  that, 
for  normal  mental  activity,  normal  brain  action  is 
essential.  Extensive  injury  of  the  brain  is  associ- 
ated with  complete  loss  of  consciousness;  marked 
physical  defects  are  accompanied  by  manifest  dis- 
turbances in  mental  activity;  while  more  subtle 
changes  have,  as  their  sequel,  more  or  less  marked 
divergences  from  the  normal.  For  the  mens  sana. 
the  cerebrum  sanum  is  necessary. 

Reaction  to  External  Conditions.  The  first  essential 
for  co-relation  with  the  environment  is  definite 
information  as  to  its  nature.  This  is  gained  through 
the  organs  of  sense,  and  each  special  kind  of  change 
in  the  environment  acts  more  particularly  on  one 
kind  of  sense  organ.  Thus,  contact  of  gross  matter 
and  the  addition  or  withdrawal  of  heat  act  specially 
on  the  organs  in  the  skin;  various  substances  in  solu- 
tion act  on  the  organs  in  the  mouth;  substances 
suspended  in  the  air  breathed  may  stimulate  the 
organs  in  the  nose;  the  structures  in  the  ear  are 
called  into  action  by  vibrations  in  the  air,  and  those 
in  the  eye  by  certain  vibrations  of  the  ether.  The 
part  of  the  nervous  system  connected  with  each  of 
these  senses  is  not  always  stimulated  from  outside 
through  the  peripheral  structure,  but  may  be 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION  15 

directly  called  into  action  with  a  resulting  sensation 
(e.g.  in  epilepsy,  when,  before  the  onset  of  a  fit,  the 
patient  may,  as  a  result  of  direct  stimulation  of  the 
brain,  experience  a  visual  sensation  of  the  nature  of 
a  definite  picture  identical  with  that  produced  by 
actual  changes  in  the  outer  world).  Further,  any 
flaw  in  the  peripheral  structure,  or  in  the  connecting 
nerves,  or  in  the  part  of  the  central  nervous  system 
involved  must  necessarily  distort  the  information 
gained. 

Such  are  the  "  gateways  of  knowledge."  It  is 
thus,  indirectly,  and  with  many  possibilities  of 
error,  that  information  as  to  our  relations  with  the 
outer  world  has  to  be  gained.  And  yet,  precision 
of  association  of  our  consciousness  with  these  external 
changes  is  the  first  essential  for  accuracy  of  know- 
ledge of  our  surroundings.  Fortunately,  this  is 
capable  of  improvement  by  training,  and  to  effect 
such  an  improvement  must  be  the  first  object  of 
any  rational  system  of  education. 

While  at  any  time  the  action  of  one  of  these 
special  senses  may  be  dominant,  may  command  the 
consciousness  and  arrest  the  attention,  it  is  rare 
that  one  is  ever  called  into  action  alone.  Others  are 
also  being  played  upon.  Thus  changes  of  conscious- 
ness and  responses  of  the  organism  are  usually  deter- 
mined by  the  associated  action  of  the  different 
sense  organs,  which,  co-operating  harmoniously, 
colour  the  resulting  sensation  and  give  it  quality. 

To  secure  an  appropriate  response  to  these 
incoming  impressions,  an  effective  arrangement  is 
necessary,  by  which  the  body  may  be  set  in  motion 
in  whole  or  in  part.  The  great  effector  structures 
are  the  muscles.  By  them,  such  crude  reactions  as 
the  striking  of  a  blow,  or  such  responses — often 
more  effective  and  subtle — as  the  use  of  language, 
spoken  or  written,  are  made.  The  muscular  move- 
ments are  guided  and  directed  by  special  parts  of 
the  nervous  system  which  the  incoming  impressions 
rouse  to  activity. 

These  reactions  to  external  conditions  through  the 
effectors  do  not  necessarily  affect  consciousness. 
Many  of  them  are  inherited  instincts,  such  as  the 


16          PSYCHOLOGY  IN  EDUCATION 

act  of  sucking  when  the  nipple  is  put  in  the  infant's 
mouth,  or  the  pecking  action  of  certain  young  birds. 
These  race  reactions  are  the  most  fundamental  and 
the  most  resistant  of  modification.  The  educationist 
must  recognize  and  accept  them,  and  take  advantage 
of  their  persistence. 

Habit  and  the  Nervous  System.  As  the  individual 
is  brought  into  more  and  more  complex  relation 
with  the  surroundings,  each  incoming  impression 
and  each  reaction  leaves  its  mark;  and,  at  any  time, 
the  response  evoked  by  a  stimulus  depends  upon 
the  previous  reactions  which  have  occurred.  For 
there  seems  to  be  no  doubt  that,  a  given  reaction 
once  having  followed  a  given  stimulus  or  collection 
of  stimuli,  the  repetition  of  that  stimulus  or  collec- 
tion of  stimuli,  or  sometimes  even  of  one  of  the 
collection  of  stimuli,  will  tend  to  call  forth  the  same 
reaction.  The  whole  theory  of  education  is  based 
upon  this  conclusion,  for  the  attempt  to  develop 
advantageous  habits,  whether  in  actions  or  in 
thoughts,  involves  the  acceptance  of  such  a 
conception. 

The  evidence  in  its  favour  is  chiefly  derived  from 
a  study  of  the  formation  of  habits  in  animals  and 
man,  and  it  is  so  strong  as  to  justify  the  formula- 
tion of  a  law  of  the  development  of  lines  of  least 
resistance  through  the  nervous  system.  Oliver 
Wendell  Holmes  said  that  the  perfectly  normal  man, 
placed  under  the  same  conditions  as  on  a  pre- 
vious occasion,  will  do  exactly  the  same  thing. 
Had  he  said  "  will  tend  to  do,"  his  statement  would 
have  been  nearer  the  truth;  for  the  combinations 
and  permutations,  both  of  the  external  conditions 
and  of  the  state  of  the  nervous  system,  are  so  end- 
less, that  the  wonder  is  that  the  same  reaction 
should  ever  occur  again.  Certain  it  is  that  the  more 
normal  the  nervous  system,  and  the  more  dominant 
the  main  stimulus,  the  more  likely  is  the  unaltered 
repetition  of  the  reaction  to  occur. 

By  reaction  is  meant  not  merely  the  muscular 
response  by  act  or  speech,  but  the  alteration  in  the 
condition  of  consciousness  which  may  accompany 
it  or  be  independent  of  it,  and  which  may  vary 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  EDUCATION          17 

from  a  simple  sensation  to  the  most  complex  trains 
of  thought.  In  Education,  then,  the  teacher  must 
strive  to  work  upon  a  normal  nervous  system  and 
arrange,  in  developing  appropriate  responses,  for 
the  stimulus  of  import  to  be  dominant  (i.e.  for  the 
learner's  attention  to  be  arrested). 

The  Brain  and  the  Spinal  Cord.  From  what  has 
been  said,  it  is  manifest  that  the  nervous  system 
must  consist  of  a  receiving  and  a  reacting  side,  so 
connected  that  the  simultaneous  incoming  stimuli 
are  properly  blended,  and  so  that  the  present 
dominant  stimulus  is  associated  with  past  impres- 
sions, in  order  that  the  reaction  may  be  appropriate. 

The  central  nervous  system  consists  of  a  long 
cylinder  of  nervous  matter  called  the  spinal  cord, 
into  which  pass  the  nerves  from  the  organs  of  sense, 
and  from  which  pass  the  nerves  to  the  muscles. 
Each  ingoing  fibre  divides  into  two:  a  long  ascend- 
ing part,  which  may  ultimately  reach  the  brain;  and 
a  shorter  descending  part.  From  these,  side  branches 
come  off  and  connect  up  by  means  of  branching 
terminations  with  the  cells  from  which  the  outgoing 
nerves  pass:  thus,  the  ingoing  nerves  of  any  part  of 
the  body  are  related  not  only  with  the  outgoing 
nerves  of  the  same  part,  but  also  with  those  of 
distant  parts  of  the  body. 

The  spinal  cord,  being  thus  made  up  of  myriads 
of  such  ingoing  and  outgoing  neurons  (as  the  indi- 
vidual nerve  structures  are  called),  is  capable  of  an 
enormously  varied  series  of  reactions,  according  to 
the  nature  of  the  stimulus,  and  according  to  the 
condition  of  the  cord.  Definite  stimuli  usually  call 
forth  definite  results.  Thus,  in  the  case  of  a  dog 
with  the  spinal  cord  separated  from  the  brain, 
pinching  one  hind  foot  causes  the  leg  to  be  drawn 
up,  but  pressure  on  the  sole  of  the  foot  causes  the 
leg  to  be  thrust  out  as  in  walking. 

While,  with  the  spinal  cord  in  a  normal  condition, 
these  reflex  responses  are  perfectly  definite  and  pur- 
posive, although  unaccompanied  by  changes  in  con- 
sciousness, under  the  influence  of  such  a  drug  as 
strychnine  they  may  become  an  incoordinate  con- 
vulsion. This  illustrates  the  importance  of  a  normal 

3— (1128) 


18          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

condition  of  the  spinal  cord  for  the  production  oi 
definite  and  purposive  movements. 

Not  only  is  the  spinal  cord  thus  independently 
capable  of  complex  and  definite  reactions,  but  it  is 
connected  with  the  brain,  so  that  its  action  is  con- 
trolled and  modified.  The  spinal  cord  was  developed 
in  connection  with  the  tactile  mechanism  of  the 
skin.  The  great  brain  or  cerebrum,  on  the  other 
hand,  was  developed  primarily  in  connection  with 
the  sense  organ  of  smell.  The  advantage  of  some 
such  arrangement  at  the  anterior  end  of  an  animal, 
warning  it  of  changes  in  the  composition  of  the 
circumambient  medium,  is  manifest.  The  organ  of 
smell  has  been  described  by  Sherrington  as  taste  at 
a  distance,  and  the  peripheral  structures  connected 
with  it  he  has  termed  distance  or  anticipatory 
receptors — organs  acted  upon  before  the  animal 
has  come  directly  upon  the  source  of  the 
stimulus. 

A  similar  development  in  the  brain  has  occurred 
in  connection  with  the  organs  of  vision,  and  another 
with  the  organs  of  hearing.  Finally,  these  have  all 
been  linked  up  together,  while  the  ingoing  fibres 
from  the  spinal  cord,  connected  with  touch,  etc., 
have  also  been  received  into  this  associative  com- 
plex, and  thus  means  have  been  afforded  for  that 
association  of  sensations,  the  importance  of  which 
has  been  previously  emphasized. 

From  this  great  associated  mechanism  in  the 
cerebrum,  fibres  extend  down  the  spinal  cord  and 
direct  the  simpler  reaction  of  that  structure. 

The  complexity  of  the  cerebral  mechanism  is  the 
basis  of  the  complexity  of  mental  activity  which 
depends  upon  the  development  of  the  capacity  for 
reception  and  association. 

The  complicated  nature  of  the  paths  in  the  spinal 
cord  has  been  already  referred  to,  but  these  paths 
are  simple  when  compared  with  the  myriads  of 
labyrinthine  connections  which  exist  in  the  cere- 
brum. The  reactions  of  the  spinal  cord  to  a  given 
stimulus  are  more  or  less  fixed,  and  can  be  foretold 
under  average  conditions,  but  the  possible  reactions 
of  the  individual  when  the  cerebrum  is  involved 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION           19 

appear  almost  endless,  and,  in  the  attempt  to  fore- 
tell them,  so  many  factors  have  to  be  considered 
that  prophecy  becomes  almost  hopeless.  This  is 
the  great  difficulty  of  the  educationist.  The  results 
of  his  attempts  to  modify  cerebral  activity  may  be 
far  other  than  those  he  desired  to  evoke. 

Determinants  of  Brain  Action.  Probably  the  most 
important  determinant  is  the  hereditary  history  of 
the  brain.  The  great  race  characters  of  cerebral 
activity  are  recognized  by  all,  but  in  every  case 
these  are  modified  by  the  influences  of  the  more 
direct  family  descent.  And  in  cerebral  development, 
as  in  the  structural  development  of  the  body,  all  the 
complicating  influences  of  heredity,  and  all  the 
variations  which  the  Mendelian  Law  attempts, 
more  or  less  successfully,  to  elucidate,  are  met  with. 
These  fundamental  hereditary  factors  are  often 
more  or  less  modified  in  early  childhood  by  attempts 
at  training  by  parents  ignorant  of  what  they  wish 
to  act  upon,  and  influenced  only  by  the  traditions 
of  the  past  and  the  fashions  of  their  own  generation. 

The  second  important  determinant  of  brain  action 
is  the  nutrition  of  the  organ,  and  this  is  too  fre- 
quently ignored.  But  any  one  who  has  studied  the 
response  to  a  stimulus  in  an  individual  with  a  well- 
nourished  brain,  and  in  the  same  individual  in  a 
state  of  fatigue,  must  have  recognized  the  impor- 
tance of  this  factor  in  any  attempt  at  education. 
To  try  to  train  a  badly  nourished  brain  is  to  court 
failure.  But,  in  order  to  have  the  requisite  know- 
ledge of  the  condition  of  the  brain,  the  educationist 
must  be  a  trained  physiologist  and  physician  !  The 
result  of  fatigue  of  the  cerebral  mechanism  has 
been  very  fully  studied  by  physiologists.  It  mani- 
fests itself  in  a  decrease  in  the  power  of  attention, 
a  decrease  in  the  definiteness  of  the  response  to  the 
stimulus,  a  prolongation  of  the  time  which  elapses 
between  the  stimulus  and  the  response,  and  in  a 
decrease  in  the  power  of  the  muscles  to  respond  fully 
to  impulses  from  the  central  nervous  system.  (See 
FATIGUE.) 

In  teaching,  the  stimulus  applied  must  be  dom- 
inating, arresting  to  the  attention  so  that  some 


20  PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

definite  reaction  may  be  called  forth,  and  so  that 
some  definite  line  of  least  resistance,  some  definite 
mark  (the  basis  of  memory),  may  be  left  upon  the 
brain,  in  order  that  the  repetition  of  a  similar 
stimulus  may  be  associated  with  it  and  the  stored 
impression  be  again  called  forth  or  recollected. 

In  real  education,  it  is  the  lines  of  action,  cerebral 
and  mental,  which  are  least  developed  that  require 
most  attention  to  render  them  more  definite. 
Just  as  a  trainer  of  the  body  tries  to  ascertain 
which  groups  of  muscles  are  weakest,  and  endeavours 
by  appropriate  exercises  to  strengthen  them,  so  the 
educationist  must  find  what  lines  of  action  in  the 
brain  require  similar  attention.  In  training  the  brain 
and  mind,  as  in  training  the  body,  it  is  desirable 
that  the  exercises  should  be  well  within  the  power 
of  the  brain,  and  should  proceed  from  the  simpler 
to  the  more  complex. 

The  development  of  the  brain  does  not  proceed 
at  the  same  rate  in  all  individuals,  and  some  simple 
tests  of  the  stage  of  development  are  useful.  Such 
a  method  has  been  devised  by  Binet  and  Simon, 
and  elaborated  and  improved  by  other  workers. 
Every  teacher  should  be  familiar  with  these  methods. 

That  the  brain  is  capable  of  education,  even  to 
the  extent  of  one  part  being  able  to  take  upon  itself 
functions  usually  discharged  by  another  part,  has 
been  demonstrated  by  removal  of  parts  of  the  brain 
in  monkeys  and  by  the  recovery  of  function  after 
extensive  destruction  of  brain  substance  by  gun- 
shot wounds.  Some  such  direct  evidence  of  the 
cap?  city  of  the  brain  for  education  is  wanted  to 
cheer  the  heart  of  the  teacher. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION         21 


SECTION  IV 

INTELLECTUAL  DEVELOPMENT  THROUGH 

THE  SENSES 

EACH  of  our  sense  departments  consists  of  an 
apparatus  of  greater  or  less  complexity,  which  is 
"  attuned  "  to,  or  adapted  for  the  perception  of, 
a  particular  aspect  or  portion  of  reality.  The 
amount  of  information  we  gain  from  each  depart- 
ment depends  upon:  (1)  The  delicacy  and  respon- 
siveness of  the  sensory  apparatus  itself;  (2)  the 
degree  of  attention  given  to  the  sensory  data  ;  (3) 
the  significance  which  these  data  possess  for  us  in 
virtue  of  their  associative  connections. 

As  regards  the  comparatively  undifferentiated 
sensations  from  the  interior  of  the  body,  it  is 
manifest  that  they  influence  consciousness  far  more 
on  the  affective  and  emotional  than  on  the  intel- 
lectual side.  Biologically,  they  are  important 
enough  as  giving  rise  to  life-preserving  activities 
(e.g.  hunger  and  thirst),  but  they  afford  us  little 
"  knowledge  "  in  the  strict  sense.  Yet  cases  of 
widespread  visceral  anaesthesia  have  shown  that 
the  sensations  from  the  interior  of  the  body  do 
sometimes  play  a  more  important  part  on  the 
purely  cognitive  side  of  consciousness  than  is  often 
suspected.  Thus  it  is  probable  that  the  constant 
background  of  consciousness  afforded  by  these 
ever-present  sensations  constitutes  an  important 
factor  in  the  consciousness  of  Self,  while  the 
periodicity  of  many  of  these  sensations  has  been 
shown  to  be  of  use  in  the  appreciation  of  time. 

Equally  important  biologically  are  the  sensations 
from  the  muscles,  joints,  and  tendons,  by  means 
of  which  we  appreciate  the  movements  and  posi- 
tions of  our  own  body.  Though  they  contribute 
but  little  to  exact  knowledge,  their  abolition  or 
impairment  causes  loss  of  control  over  our  move- 
ments; further,  then*  co-ordination  with  sensations 
of  touch  and  of  vision  is  involved  in  all  the  more 


22  PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

complex  motor  activities,  and  the  importance  of 
their  training  in  this  respect  is  becoming  increasingly 
recognized  by  modern  educationists. 

As  regards  sensations  from  the  outer  surface  of 
the  body,  modern  research  has  demonstrated  the 
existence  of  complicated  systems  of  sense-organs, 
some  of  greater  and  some  of  lesser  delicacy.  There 
is  still  some  disagreement  as  to  the  precise  details 
of  these  systems,  but  it  seems  fairly  certain  that 
the  elementary  qualities  of  cutaneous  sensation — 
pressure,  pain,  heat,  and  cold — are,  each  of  them, 
found  in  at  least  two  systems:  one  of  a  coarser 
nature,  giving  rough  qualitative  information  only, 
and  influencing  consciousness  in  a  predominantly 
affective  manner;  the  other  providing  sensations 
delicately  graded  according  to  the  intensity  of  the 
stimulus,  and  being  predominantly  cognitive  in 
function.  The  former  system  provides  information 
of  great  biological  utility,  but  of  a  vague  and  com- 
paratively undifferentiated  character.  The  more 
delicate  system  is  of  great  importance  for  the 
appreciation  of  the  size,  shape,  texture,  etc.,  of 
objects,  as  well  as  for  the  execution  of  movements 
involving  dexterity ;  the  important  part  such 
sensations  may  play  in  education  has  been 
increasingly  realized  of  recent  years. 

As  regards  the  chemical  senses  of  taste  and  smell, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  latter,  at  any  rate,  has 
played  an  important  part  in  mental  development 
at  the  infra-human  stage,  but  that  in  the  human 
race  it  has  suffered  very  considerable  degeneration. 
In  many  animals  (e.g.  the  dog)  smell  is  the  most 
important  cognitive  sense,  as  is  clear  both  from  the 
behaviour  of  these  animals  and  from  their  rela- 
tively enormous  development  of  the  olfactory  area 
of  the  brain.  Since  odours  are  to  be  found  in 
greatest  intensity  and  variety  in  close  proximity 
to  the  surface  of  the  earth,  the  decay  of  smell  in 
the  human  race  is  probably  connected  with  the 
assumption  of  the  upright  posture,  which  has  pro- 
duced a  mode  of  life  less  suited  to  the  exercise  of 
smell,  and  more  favourable  to  that  of  hearing  and 
vision. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          23 

Hearing  and  vision  derive  their  chief  biological 
importance  from  the  fact  that  they  enable  their 
possessor  to  become  aware  of  objects  at  a  distance 
from  his  own  body,  and  thus  to  seek  or  to  avoid 
them,  as  occasion  may  require.  They  are  the  pre- 
dominantly cognitive  senses  in  man  and,  by  means 
of  all  three  of  the  factors  mentioned  at  the  begin- 
ning, contribute  more  to  knowledge  than  any  of 
the  other  senses.  Vision  is  especially  important  as 
the  sense  through  which  our  ideas  of  the  external 
world  (i.e.  space  and  size,  shape,  position,  and 
movements  01  the  objects  occupying  it)  are  chiefly 
formed.  Hearing  and  vision  are,  further,  the  normal 
channels  through  which  we  become  possessed  of 
the  inheritance  of  human  culture,  through  the 
connection  of  the  former  with  spoken,  and  of  the 
latter  with  written,  language. 

We  may  note,  finally,  three  facts  of  general 
importance  in  connection  with  our  subject — 

1.  As  regards  the  acquisition  of  human  culture, 
it  is  possible  to  use  effectually  a  sense  other  than 
that  generally  employed  for  a  given  purpose,  as  is 
shown  by  the  congenitally  blind  or  deaf,  and  (still 
more  markedly)  by  the  well-known  cases  of  Laura 
Bridgman  and  Helen  Keller. 

2.  There  exists  a  tendency  towards  an  inverse 
correspondence    between    the    affective    and    the 
cognitive  value  of  the  different  senses. 

3.  Much  of  our  most  important   knowledge  is 
acquired,  not  exclusively  through  any  one  sense, 
but  by  means  of  a  co-ordination  of  sensory  data 
from  two  or  more  sense  departments. 


24          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION  V 
SENSE-TRAINING 

THE  use  of  the  term  "  sense-training "  implies 
imperfect  psychology.  We  do  not  train  the 
senses,  if  by  that  we  mean  the  organs  of  sense. 
It  is  only  nervous  matter  that  can  be  trained, 
because,  in  the  highly  organized  human  body,  it  is 
only  nervous  matter  that  remembers  (i.e.  that  is 
so  modified  by  use  that  it  responds  to  later  stimuli 
not  only  with  more  or  less  vigour,  but  in  a  different 
way.  That  is  the  essential  point — even  a  muscle 
responds  in  a  different  way  (i.e.  more  vigorously, 
or  less)  after  use,  but  there  is  no  difference  in 
kind;  it  simply  contracts  or  becomes  flaccid.  So  far, 
then,  as  the  senses  depend  on  the  muscular  or 
vascular  portions  of  the  sense-organs,  it  is  certain 
that  they  cannot  be  trained. 

There  is,  however,  nervous  matter  in  every  sense- 
organ;  and  if  it  could  be  trained,  we  might  truly 
speak  of  training  the  sense-organs.  But  this  nervous 
matter  is  only  the  ends  of  the  fibres  of  the  nerve 
cells  along  which  the  messages  pass  to  the  central 
system,  and  these  nerve  fibres  cannot  be  trained, 
because,  unlike  the  central  nervous  matter,  they 
are  not  modified  by  use.  It  is,  indeed,  essential  that 
they  shall  transmit  the  message  of  the  moment 
exactly  as  it  is  received,  and  wholly  uninfluenced 
by  the  messages  which  preceded  it.  The  telescope 
would  be  of  no  use  if  the  rays  it  transmitted  to  the 
eye  depended  not  alone  on  what  it  was  pointed  at, 
but  also  on  what  it  had  been  pointed  at  in  the  past. 
It  is  the  man  behind  the  telescope,  whose  inter- 
pretation of  what  he  sees  must  be  modified  by  his 
past  experiences,  who  must  be  trained. 

Nature  arranges  for  this  through  the  repair  of 
the  waste  matter.  When  a  discharge  passes  along 
a  nerve  path,  some  of  the  nervous  material  is  used 
up.  The  waste  matter  is  carried  off  by  the  blood 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN  EDUCATION          25 

supply,  which  also  carries  new  material  to  the 
nerve  to  replace  that  which  has  been  used  up. 
In  repairing  the  central  nervous  system,  the  struc- 
ture and  arrangement  of  the  nerves  over  which  the 
discharge  has  passed  are  altered,  so  that  they 
respond  in  a  different  way  when  the  same  or  a 
similar  stimulus  passes  over  them  next  time. 
Therein  lies  the  strange  secret  of  organic  life,  for 
these  alterations  of  structure  are,  in  normal  circum- 
stances, such  as  to  secure  that  the  response  is 
changed  in  the  direction  of  greater  well-being  for 
the  organism.  But  when  the  discharge  passes  along 
the  nerve  fibre  from  the  sense-organ  to  the  central 
system,  the  waste  material  is  replaced  in  such  a 
way  as  to  leave  the  nerve  fibre  unchanged.  Thus 
even  the  nervous  material  of  the  sense-organ  can- 
not be  trained.  What  we  call  sense-training  is, 
therefore,  really  brain-training,  and  the  problem 
of  sense-training  is  that  of  finding  how  the  brain 
can  best  be  trained  to  interpret  the  messages  which 
are  sent  by  the  organs  of  sense. 

Is  Formal  Training  Possible  ?  The  most  important 
question  we  can  ask  relates  to  what  is  known  as 
formal  training.  Can  we  do  anything  to  improve 
the  general  power  of  observation,  or  is  the  improve- 
ment, due  to  practice  in  one  direction,  entirely 
limited  to  that  direction  ?  Experience  proves,  what 
the  above  theory  suggests,  that,  since  what  we 
mean  by  training  the  sense-organs  is  really  improv- 
ing the  power  of  the  brain  to  interpret  the  messages 
it  receives  from  the  organ,  we  must  expect  this 
training  to  be  specific  rather  than  general.  The 
physician  who  has  become  extraordinarily  quick 
to  observe  and  interpret  the  slightest  changes  in  his 
patient  will  be  helpless  if  asked  to  interpret  the 
tracks  which  the  Red  Indian  reads  without  effort 
— and  vice  versa,  though  their  sense-organs  may 
be  equally  good.  Or,  to  take  another  example, 
suppose  A  knows  French,  but  is  not  very  keen  of 
hearing,  while  B,  who  does  not  know  French,  is. 
When  both  listen  to  a  Frenchman,  A's  ears  send 
less  distinct  messages  to  the  brain  than  do  B's; 
but  while  A,  if  he  attends  carefully,  can  "  hear  " 


26          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

every  vowel  and  consonant  distinctly,  B  can  make 
nothing  of  it. 

It  is,  therefore,  abundantly  clear  that  special 
aptitude  in  sense  interpretation  in  a  particular  field 
requires  special  training  in  that  field.  But  it  is  not 
shown  that  the  special  aptitude  is  not  built  on  a 
general  foundation  which  may  be  trained  apart 
from  the  special  activity.  And  the  physiological 
principles  on  which  sense-training  depends  indicates 
that  this  is  probable.  For,  just  as  the  telescope  has 
to  be  moved  by  hand  so  as  to  follow  the  object  at 
which  we  are  looking,  so  in  every  adjustment  of 
the  eye,  or  other  sense-organ,  the  muscles  must  be 
used  to  adjust  the  eye — to  alter  its  direction,  or  its 
focus,  or  both.  And  just  as  steadiness  in  moving 
the  telescope  comes  only  with  practice — and  just 
as  steadiness  in  moving  it  to  follow  a  bird  on  the 
wing  will  be  carried  over  to  give  steadiness  in 
following  any  other  object — so  our  physiological 
knowledge  would  lead  us  to  expect  with  the  eye. 
Similarly  in  regard  to  attention.  We  should  expect 
that  the  power  of  concentrating  attention  on  the 
message  conveyed  by  one  or  more  of  the  many 
nerve  fibres  from  the  eye,  when  acquired  in  con- 
nection with  one  kind  of  object,  would  help  us  to 
discriminate  the  messages  sent  by  those  nerve  fibres 
when  dealing  with  another  kind,  although  we  should 
not  expect  it  to  help  us  in  interpreting  the  other 
messages.  For  it  is  evident  that  the  power  of  dis- 
criminating the  messages  sent  along  sensory  fibres 
is  only  to  be  acquired  by  practice,  just  as  is  the 
power  of  adjusting  the  motor  impulses  along  the 
different  motor  fibres. 

The  conclusion  seems  to  be  that  this  discrimina- 
tion should  be  acquired  by  sense-training  in 
early  childhood,  while  interpretation  is  a  later 
specialization. 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN   EDUCATION          27 


SECTION  VI 
INSTINCT 

THE  term  "  instinctive  "  may  properly  be  applied 
either  (a)  to  certain  observable  modes  of  behaviour, 
such  as  the  swimming  of  a  duckling  directly 
it  is  placed  in  water,  or  the  flight  of  a  swallow 
when  first  it  is  committed  to  the  wing ;  or 
(fc)  to  certain  inferred  dispositions  of  which  more 
complex  behaviour  is  the  expression,  such  as  the 
instinctive  disposition  of  some  birds  to  migrate 
and,  on  their  return  to  the  breeding  area,  to  secure 
a  territory,  to  mate,  build  a  nest,  procreate  and 
rear  then*  young.  In  either  case,  the  emphasis  is  on 
the  hereditary  character  of  the  observed  behaviour 
or  of  the  inferred  disposition.  They  are  unlearnt  in 
the  sense  that  they  are  not  gradually  acquired  in 
the  course  of  individual  life.  In  the  phraseology  of 
a  well-known  educational  formula,  they  depend 
upon  some  form  of  racial  preparation;  they  demand 
some  presentation  of  appropriate  conditions;  and 
they  lead  up  to  application  in  the  conduct  of  life. 
Whether  the  dispositions  are  to  be  regarded  as 
primarily  organic  and  dependent,  let  us  say,  on  the 
hereditary  structure  of  the  nervous  system,  or  are 
to  be  regarded  as  dependent  on  structures  of  the 
mind  which  uses  the  body  as  its  instrument,  is  a 
difficult  problem  which  need  not  here  be  discussed. 
From  the  educational  point  of  view,  the  stress  is 
on  instinctive  dispositions  in  the  broader  sense  (6), 
which  are  to  be  regarded  as  mental,  and  which  must 
be  reckoned  with  by  those  whose  chief  concern  is 
the  training  of  the  mind. 

Habit  and  Instinct.  It  is  clear  that  if  such 
inherited  dispositions  were  unalterable,  there,  from 
the  educational  point  of  view,  would  be  an  end  to 
the  matter.  We  should  have  to  accept  them  as 
they  are,  just  as  we  accept  the  colour  of  the  child's 
eyes.  But  instinctive  dispositions  are  not  unalter- 
able. They  increase  in  strength  when  they  are 


28          PSYCHOLOGY  IN   EDUCATION 

allowed  free  play;  they  wane  if  opportunities  for 
their  expression  are  denied  them.  An  instinctive 
disposition,  endorsed  by  the  frequent  repetition  ot 
the  kind  of  behaviour  which  is  its  outward  manifesta- 
tion, is  supplemented  by  habit ;  but,  if  it  be 
prevented  from  finding  expression,  it  may  pass  into 
a  latent  state,  though  circumstances  unusually 
favourable  to  its  manifestation  may  reveal  its 
continued  presence.  Under  the  simpler  conditions 
of  animal  life,  the  group  of  dispositions  which  we 
speak  of  as  the  nature  of  the  animal  seldom  fail 
to  be  endorsed  by  habit.  But  under  the  more 
complex  conditions  of  human  life,  instinctive  dis- 
positions appropriate  to  the  mere  animal  nature 
above  which  the  child  must  rise  need  checking  or 
guiding  to  finer  issues.  But  here  it  is  often  more 
efficacious  to  utilize  the  principle  of  supersession 
than  to  attempt  direct  suppression.  It  is  by  afford- 
ing opportunities  for  the  repetitive  establishment 
of  what  we  deem  good  habits  that  the  overcoming 
of  bad  habits  is  most  effectively  secured. 

Apart  from  the  direct  influence  of  habit-formation 
in  supplementing  certain  instinctive  dispositions, 
with  the  diminution  in  strength  of  opposing  ten- 
dencies— apart  from  this,  as  mental  development 
proceeds,  the  hereditary  bias  to  certain  kinds  of 
behaviour  comes  more  and  more  under  the  sway 
of  motives  in  connection  with  something  like  a 
settled  purpose  in  life.  The  instinctive  dispositions, 
as  such,  are  impulsive;  they  arise  unbidden  in  pre- 
sence of  the  situations  which  evoke  them.  Whether, 
notwithstanding  the  strength  of  the  impulse  of  the 
moment,  they  can  be  held  in  check,  depends  on  the 
strength  of  the  intellectual  and  moral  character, 
and  on  the  inborn  power  of  self-control  developed 
under  that  guidance  which  it  is  the  chief  end  of 
education  to  afford. 

The  innate  capacity  of  acquiring  systematic 
knowledge  and,  in  the  light  which  it  sheds,  of  con- 
trolling action  for  the  compassing  of  foreseen  ends, 
is  no  less  hereditary  than  are  the  instinctive  dis- 
positions. Neither  child  nor  man  can  do  aught 
beyond  the  limits  of  his  inherited  power.  It  seems 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          29 

necessary,  therefore,  to  distinguish  carefully  between 
(1)  instinctive  dispositions  to  behave  in  certain  ways 
prior  to  explicit  intelligent  guidance,  and  (2)  innate 
capacity  for  such  intelligent  guidance  and  control 
of  action.  The  latter,  no  less  than  the  former,  may 
show  tendencies  in  specific  and  hereditary  direc- 
tions: both  may  be  more  or  less  markedly  touched 
with  emotion;  but  innate  capacity  more  distinctively 
affords  the  hereditary  foundation  of  character. 

Instinct  and  Emotion.  So  close  is  the  connection 
between  instinctive  and  emotional  dispositions 
— the  former  to  behave  in  certain  ways,  the  latter 
to  be  effectively  stirred  in  some  distinctive  manner 
— that  we  may  regard  the  more  primitive  emotions 
as  in  intimate  alliance  with  instinctive  dispositions 
of  full  intensive  force,  experienced  with  some 
measure  of  warmth  and  glow,  felt  distinctively  each 
with  its  special  quality,  and  overflowing  the  normal 
limits  of  expression  in  behaviour. 

Mr.  McDougall,  to  whose  Social  Psychology 
reference  may  here  be  made,  gives  a  list  of  what 
he  regards  as  the  primary  emotions  of  man,  each 
of  which  has  its  instinctive  manifestation  in  some 
recognizable  kind  of  behaviour.  Tempting  though 
it  would  be,  however,  to  try,  did  space  permit,  to 
assign  to  the  period  of  school  life  a  definite  number 
of  instincts  duly  labelled  and  placed  in  order,  it  is 
questionable  whether,  in  the  present  state  of  know- 
ledge, it  is  not  wiser,  and  perhaps  more  practically 
helpful,  to  rest  content  with  a  broad  distinction  of 
two  groups  of  dispositions  with  opposite  tendencies. 
In  the  one  group,  there  are  those  which  tend 
towards  yielding,  shrinking,  clinging  for  support, 
dependence,  submission,  falling  readily  into  line, 
and  helplessness  in  presence  of  difficulties.  In  the 
other  group  are  those  whose  tendency  is  in  the 
direction  of  what  may  be  summarized  as  independent 
self-assertion.  Between  these  opposing  dispositions, 
unquestionably  instinctive  in  a  broad  sense  of  the 
term,  there  is  constant  interplay.  Which  of  the  two, 
hi  any  given  situation,  is  dominant  depends  in  large 
measure  on  the  circumstances.  In  the  child  as  he 
enters  school,  and  in  the  boy  who  is  about  to  leave 


30          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

it,  the  balance  is  different.  But,  at  any  given  stage, 
the  tactful  teacher  can  judge  whether  a  boy  has  an 
instinctive  disposition  which  renders  him  over- 
timid,  dependent,  merely  imitative,  and  too  readily 
daunted  by  difficulties  on  occasions  when  self- 
reliance,  independence,  and  reasonable  self-assertion 
would  be  in  place;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  when, 
through  inherited  nature,  the  opposite  state  of 
matters  obtains.  It  is  for  him,  then,  so  to 
act  as,  so  far  as  may  be  possible,  to  redress  the 
balance. 

Reference — 

DREVER  J. — Instinct  in  Man. 
MACDOUGALL,  W.     Social  Psychology. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          31 

SECTION  VII 
EMOTION 

No  mental  phenomena  are  less  understood  than 
those  of  emotion.  The  unsophisticated  person 
would  speak  of  fear,  horror,  and  anger  as 
emotions,  and  recognize  such  phenomena  as  pre- 
liminary to  action.  A  simple  form  of  fear,  he  would 
say,  impels  to  flight,  just  as  anger  often  impels  to 
combat.  He  would  also  recognize  more  complex 
forms  of  emotion,  such  as  grief,  joy,  surprise,  scorn, 
reverence,  and  many  others.  Analysis  of  a  state  of 
fear  reveals  (1)  an  awareness  of  the  object  of  fear, 
(2)  an  impulse  to  flight,  and  (3)  the  emotion  of  fear, 
the  whole  accompanied  by  peculiar  bodily  feelings, 
caused  by  increased  heart-beat,  tingling  of  blood, 
impeded  or  vigorous  respiration,  and  other  well- 
known  phenomena.  It  had  always  been  thought 
that  the  emotion  is  the  antecedent  cause  of  these 
peculiar  organic  sensations.  It  has,  however,  been 
argued  by  William  James  and  Professor  Lange 
that  the  organic  sensations  do  not  follow  the 
emotion,  but  are  the  emotion.  Now,  if  the  emotion 
is  identical  with  the  organic  sensations,  it  follows, 
inversely,  as  Professor  Stout  points  out,  that  all 
organic  sensations  must  be  emotions,  or  at  least 
those  types  of  organic  sensations  which  produce 
a  generally  diffused  nervous  disturbance.  No  one, 
however,  ventures  to  assert  that  the  morning  cold 
bath  originates  a  true  emotion.  Moreover,  when 
an  emotion  arises  in  connection  with  definite 
perceptions  and  ideas — as  is  the  case  where  an 
object  causes  fear — there  is  first  a  disturbance  of 
the  central  nervous  system,  having  its  mental 
correlate  in  what  most  people  would  call  an 
emotion.  The  central  disturbance  gives  rise  to 
organic  disturbances  which  doubtless  are  in  their 
turn  felt,  and  which  augment  the  original  emotion 
and  help  to  give  it  distinctive  quality.  It  is  clearly 
illogical,  then,  to  limit  the  components  of  emotion 
to  the  organic  sensations, 


32          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

Emotion,  Instinct,  and  Action.  The  close  connec- 
tion between  emotion  and  action  has  led  to  discus- 
sions in  which  MacDougall  and  Shand  have  been 
the  protagonists.  Primordially,  the  instincts  con- 
dition what  James  calls  the  coarser  emotions. 
According  to  MacDougall,  each  principal  instinct 
has  its  special  form  of  emotion,  also  innately  deter- 
mined. The  instinct  of  flight  or  concealment  is 
always  accompanied  by  the  emotion  of  fear,  repul- 
sion by  disgust,  and  so  on.  Many  emotions,  how- 
ever, are  complex  (i.e.  fusions  of  the  primary 
emotions).  Such,  for  example,  is  admiration  (com- 
pounded of  wonder  and  negative  self-feeling  and 
including  also  an  element  of  pleasure).  Other 
affective  states,  such  as  reproach,  anxiety,  jealousy, 
etc.,  are  said  to  be  complex  emotional  states,  only 
explicable  in  virtue  of  the  existence  of  some  senti- 
ment. Within  the  sentiment  of  love  are  said  to  be 
found  reproach,  anxiety,  jealousy,  hope,  and  others. 
Shand  differs  from  MacDougall  in  declaring  that 
the  same  instinct  may  involve  various  emotions, 
and  that  the  same  special  emotion  may  lead  to 
different  types  of  motor  activity. 

Whatever  be  the  final  outcome  of  the  study  now 
being  given  to  this  subject,  all  psychologists  agree 
in  noting  the  vital  connection  between  emotion  in 
its  widest  sense  and  action  or  expression.  From 
the  instincts,  desires  are  developed;  the  object  of 
desire  is  at  length  clearly  cognized,  and  definite 
and  even  remote  purposes  come  into  being,  the 
interpenetrating  emotions  finding  vent  in  different 
forms  of  expression.  As  a  rule,  the  spontaneity 
and  vigour  of  the  expression  correspond  to  the 
degree  of  emotion  aroused.  The  fiercely  angry 
man  expresses  himself  quickly  and  freely  in  blows 
or  strong  language,  or  undergoes  a  suppressed 
emotional  agitation  that  may  threaten  his  very 
life. 

The  Utilization  of  Emotion  in  School.  While  an 
emotion  may  be  aroused  by  anything  which  interests 
or  appears  to  be  important  for  us,  the  emotion  is 
quite  different  from  the  interest.  The  latter  has  a 
strong  intellectual  element,  the  former  a  f oundation 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          33 

of  strong  organic  disturbance.  The  school  must  not 
fail  to  utilize  emotion  for  both  its  immediate  and 
remote  purposes.  On  the  intellectual  side,  the 
emotion  of  elation  consequent  on  the  overcoming 
of  difficulties  may  result  in  transforming  an  uncon- 
genial into  a  congenial  task;  the  sentiment  of 
patriotism  and  its  expression  in  civic  conduct  may 
develop  through  an  inspiring  presentation  of  our 
country's  history;  emotions  roused  by  selecting 
beautiful  forms  for  study  may  lead  to  permanent 
interest  in  aesthetic  types;  the  emotional  excite- 
ment roused  when  the  pupil  sees  the  purpose  of 
a  piece  of  school  work  may  induce  permanent 
interest  in  the  subject.  Over  and  above  these  aims, 
it  is  the  function  of  the  school  to  arouse  the  emo- 
tions which  may  lead  to  the  religious  sentiment 
and  to  character  formation.  It  is  the  business  of 
education  to  inspire  the  emotions  of  which  admira- 
tion, reverence,  awe,  and  gratitude  are  compounded. 
It  is  to  be  remembered,  however,  that  the  mere 
arousing  of  the  feelings  is  not  an  aim  in  itself,  and 
that,  unless  they  are  directed  into  useful  channels 
of  activity,  the  ethical  purpose  has  not  been  achieved. 
The  proper  interpretation  of  children's  emotions 
may  be  of  great  assistance  to  the  teacher.  As  a  rule, 
he  can  determine  whether  his  methods  of  teaching 
and  government  are  on  right  lines  by  the  emotional 
response  of  the  class.  There  is,  however,  some  little 
danger  of  mistaking  his  function,  and  of  imagining 
that  he  has  to  aim  at  supplying  children  with  merely 
pleasurable  emotions.  What  he  has  to  do  is  to 
supply  intrinsically  valuable  knowledge  and  capacity 
in  a  way  which  affords  the  greatest  amount  of 
pleasurable  feeling  possible. 


4— (1128) 


34          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION  VIII 
INTELLECT 

LIKE  various  other  powers  of  the  mind,  intellect 
has  been  differently  denned  by  philosophers 
according  to  their  general  view  of  the  nature  oi  man 
and  the  universe.  The  reverberation  of  these  differ- 
ences has  been  felt  even  by  the  psychologist,  in  his 
endeavour  to  distinguish  intellect  from  the  powers 
of  feeling  and  volition,  from  instinct  and  intuition. 
It  seems  helpful,  and  indeed  inevitable,  in  pursuit 
of  a  definition,  to  follow  the  clue  suggested  by  Plato, 
and  seek  the  first  broad  notion  of  the  nature  of 
intellect,  "  writ  large  "  in  the  achievement  of  the 
race,  rather  than  dim  in  the  recesses  of  individual 
consciousness.  Intellect  is  the  power  that  reveals 
itself  in  the  ordered  structure  of  common  know- 
ledge: both  in  the  everyday  world  of  perception  as 
articulated  by  the  forms  of  speech  and  thought, 
and,  above  all,  in  the  system  of  the  sciences,  where 
not  only  the  product,  but  the  ideal  aims  and 
shaping  principles  of  intellectual  activity  appear 
discernible. 

Viewing  intellect  in  this  way,  one  sees  why  it  has 
always  been  regarded  as  in  a  special  sense  common, 
even  identical,  in  individuals.  Men  may  feel  and 
will  in  harmony,  yet  their  emotions  and  volitions, 
based  upon  their  individual  needs,  constantly 
emphasize  the  distinctive  position  of  each  within 
the  whole;  men's  intellectual  activity  is  thought  of 
as  biased  indeed  by  their  individual  desires  and 
emotions,  limited  by  the  limitations  of  their  experi- 
ence, but  of  its  own  nature  opening  out  toward  the 
same  prospect  of  objective  truth;  and  capable, 
according  to  its  ideal,  when  challenged  at  any  point, 
of  retracing  a  path  of  argument  which  all  may 
follow,  back  to  principles  deep-rooted  in  social 
experience.  Again,  this  view  of  intellect  helps  us  to 
formulate  the  distinction  between  it  and  instinct. 
Through  each  power  the  individual  participates  in 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          35 

the  heritage  of  the  race:  but  in  the  case  of  instinct, 
the  heritage  is  transmitted  through  the  inborn 
structure  of  brain  and  mind,  and  operates  as  a  blind 
prompting  from  within;  while  in  the  case  of  intel- 
lect, the  heritage,  embodied  in  language,  in  the 
structure  of  material  tools  and  social  institutions, 
must  be  consciously  appropriated  by  the  individual 
and  seems  to  come  to  him  from  without.  It  is  in 
this  conscious  appropriation  that  the  business  of 
intellectual  education  must  evidently  largely  con- 
sist, and  it  is  the  exclusive  emphasis  upon  such 
appropriation  that  constitutes  one  of  the  besetting 
dangers  of  the  latent  educational  theory  that  guides 
practice.  There  has  been  constantly  present  the 
tendency  to  forget  that  the  child  is  a  creature  of 
instinct,  of  emotion  and  action,  as  well  as  a  potential 
intellect;  and  the  spring  of  intellectual  activity 
itself  has  sometimes  been  broken  under  the  burden 
of  accumulated  knowledge  to  which  individual 
experience  fails  to  give  reality.  For  while  it  is 
necessary  to  emphasize  the  dependence  of  the  indi- 
vidual in  his  intellectual  effort  upon  the  com- 
munity, it  is  important  to  note  also  the  necessity 
for  a  degree  of  dependence  of  each  upon  himself. 
The  individual  can  only  appropriate  effectively  the 
knowledge  of  the  community  so  far  as  he  is  con- 
tinually testing  the  common  results  and  methods 
by  application  to  his  own  experience,  under  the 
stimulus  of  his  own  purposes;  and  it  is  clearly  only 
in  a  community  of  individuals  who  so  hold  and 
test  it  that  the  body  of  common  knowledge  can 
develop. 

We  must  not  leave  the  distinction  between 
intellect  and  the  other  powers  of  the  mind,  emo- 
tional and  volitional,  without  noticing  that  the 
latter  also  have  their  inner  nature  writ  large  in 
social  achievement.  In  art,  in  morality  and  religion, 
we  find  collective  products  wherein  the  dominant 
fashioning  force  is  not  intellect  with  its  discursive 
methods,  but  rather  some  impersonal  emotion,  or 
practical  reason,  proceeding  by  way  of  intuition. 
Some  philosophers  have  maintained  that,  through 
these  achievements,  and  the  powers  that  underlie 


36          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

them,  man  may  make  contact  with  aspects  of 
reality  which  the  human  intellect  is  unfitted  to 
explore.  The  educator  to  whom  these  problems 
appeal  may  be  led  to  emphasize  the  necessity  for 
developing  the  possibilities  of  the  individual  through 
contact  with  the  great  results  of  artistic  effort  and 
religious  aspiration;  but  history  will  perhaps  sug- 
gest to  him  that,  even  within  these  domains,  the 
claim  of  the  critical  intellect  to  enter  cannot  long 
be  resisted  without  nemesis  of  spiritual  death. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          37 


SECTION    IX 
ATTENTION 

ACCORDING  to  what  may  perhaps  be  called  the 
traditional  view,  Attention  is,  primarily,  an 
intellectual  process.  A  boy  is  said  to  be 
attending  when  his  mind  is  focused  upon  the  ideas 
which  form  the  subject-matter  of  the  lesson  ;  as, 
for  instance,  when  he  is  listening  to  the  master's 
explanation.  The  selected  ideas  to  which  attention 
is  given  gain  in  clearness.  The  boy  "  understands  " 
[see  e.g.  Bagley  :  Educative  Process  (p.  96)]. 
This  conception  of  attention  has  been  developed 
by  distinguished  psychologists  and,  undoubtedly, 
throws  light  upon  important  features  of  the  process 
"  The  problem  of  attention  centres  in  the  fact  of 
sensible  clearness "  [Titchener :  Psychology  of 
Feeling  and  Attention  (p.  182)].  "  The  essence  of 
attention  as  a  conscious  process  is  an  increase  in 
the  clearness  of  one  idea  or  group  of  ideas  at  the 
expense  of  others*'  [Pillsbury  :  Attention  (p.  11)]. 
It  fails,  however,  to  emphasize  the  conative  aspect 
of  attention,  which  is  the  essence  of  the  process 
according  to  the  best  educational  thought  and 
practice.  When  a  boy  is  attending  properly,  it  is 
not  enough  that  he  should  clearly  comprehend  the 
master's  words  ;  the  important  thing  is  that  his 
own  mental  activity  should  be  stimulated  and  con- 
trolled. For  a  master  who  knows  how  to  teach, 
"  attention  is  a  mode  of  mental  activity  by  which 
a  given  system  of  mental  processes  is  intensified, 
directed,  and  sustained  to  the  exclusion  of  all 
incompatible  and  irrelevant  mental  processes " 
[Burt :  In  "  Report  of  a  Conference  of  London 
County  Council  Teachers,  1913,"  p.  25]. 

Conative  and  Affective  Elements.  The  conative 
theory  of  attention  may  be  regarded  as  one  out- 
come of  a  movement  which  is  modifying  both  our 
educational  ideals  and  the  practice  of  the  schools. 


38          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

In  education,  as  generally  in  our  social  life,  the 
individualistic  and  narrowly  intellectual  point  of 
view  is  being  superseded  by  one  which  endeavours 
to  do  fuller  justice  to  the  social,  emotional,  and 
conative  aspects  of  experience.  The  theory  will 
doubtless  undergo  further  changes  as  our  know- 
ledge of  mental  life  increases ;  but,  in  its  present 
form,  it  owes  much  to  the  results  obtained  by 
psychological  experiment  and  is  supported  by  the 
authority  of  the  best  contemporary  English  psy- 
chologists. Thus  attention  is  denned  as  "  the  mind 
at  work  or  beginning  to  work  upon  its  object "  ; 
or,  as  essentially  consisting  "  in  a  felt  tendency  to 
dwell  on  an  object  so  as  in  some  way  to  adjust 
ourselves  to  it  theoretically  or  practically."  [See  : 
Stout  &  Baldwin  in  Dictionary  of  Philosophy  and 
Psychology  sub  voce ;  and  Stout :  Manual  of 
Psychology,  1913  (p.  135).]  "Effort  of  attention," 
says  Dr.  McDougall,  following  William  James, 
"  is  the  essential  form  of  all  volition  "  :  a  state- 
ment which  emphasizes  the  conative  aspect  of 
attention  from  a  somewhat  different  point  of  view. 
[See  Social  Psychology,  1914  (p.  242)  ;  comp.  James  : 
Principles  of  Psychology,  Vol.  II  (p.  562).]  This 
theory  of  attention  brings  into  prominence  the 
affective  element  in  the  attention  process.  If  our 
minds  are  at  work  on  an  object,  we  are  sensible 
that  the  object  concerns  us ;  we  have  a  feeling 
towards  it  or  an  interest  in  it.  This  interest  involves 
cognition  and  conation  ;  but  its  core  is  an  emo- 
tional attitude  towards  the  object,  which  may 
include  pleasure,  or  pain,  or  any  emotion.  The 
continuity  of  our  interest  in  the  object  maintains, 
and  is  itself  maintained  by,  the  continuity  of  our 
attention  ;  while  the  whole  process  of  attention  is 
directed  towards  the  satisfaction  of  our  interest. 
Interest  and  the  conative  process  of  attention 
mutually  imply  each  other.  We  may  say  that  a 
boy  attends  when  he  is  interested,  or  that  he  is 
interested  when  he  attends.  As  has  already  been 
suggested,  the  practice  of  good  teachers  implies 
a  view  of  interest  and  attention  similar  to  the  one 
just  outlined.  Thus,  to  give  a  single  example  only, 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          39 

we  find  such  teachers  usually  begin  a  lesson  by 
assuring  themselves  that  the  class  realizes  the 
importance  of  the  end  to  be  attained.  By  so  doing, 
they  tend  to  secure  that  continuity  of  interest 
which  should  characterize  a  lesson  as  a  sustained 
process  of  attention.  Just  as  the  intellectualist 
doctrine  of  attention  led  teachers  to  regard  Herbart's 
First  Step  of  Preparation  as  the  most  effective 
beginning  for  a  typical  lesson,  so  the  provision  of 
an  adequate  aim,  appreciated  by  the  boys  them- 
selves, is  the  first  step  demanded  by  the  conative 
doctrine. 

How  to  Secure  Attention.  This  view  of  the 
meaning  of  attention  throws  light  upon  the  prac- 
tically important  problem  of  how  attention  is  to  be 
secured.  If  it  is  accepted,  the  chief  conditions  of 
attention  may  be  grouped  under  three  heads. 
First,  we  have  the  so-called  objective  conditions  of 
attention.  Certain  types  of  stimuli  normally  tend 
to  excite  attention.  Thus  a  stimulus  tends  to 
challenge  attention  if  it  is  intense,  extensive, 
changing,  sudden,  novel,  or  repeated.  A  large 
picture  is  more  effective  than  a  small  one.  An 
unexpected  change  of  procedure  will  often  pull  a 
class  together,  while  a  sudden  interruption  is  dis- 
tracting. A  moving  object  will  nearly  always  hold 
the  attention  of  the  class.  Secondly,  the  direction 
of  attention  may  be  determined  by  associations 
formed  in  the  course  of  the  boy's  previous  experi- 
ence. A  present  situation  recafls  similar  situations 
in  the  past,  which  included  features  not  forming 
part  of  the  existing  situation.  These  additional 
features,  when  recalled  by  association,  may  become 
the  object  of  attention  or  influence  its  course. 
In  this  way,  previously  formed  associations  may 
render  attention  more  effective,  as  when  the  subject 
of  a  lesson  recalls  situations  in  the  boys'  daily 
lives ;  but,  when  attention  is  not  controlled  by  a 
strong  coherent  interest,  the  recalled  associations 
may  lead  it  to  pass  more  or  less  aimlessly  from  one 
object  to  another,  as  is  shown  by  the  conversation 
of  garrulous  and  weak-minded  persons.  But, 
thirdly,  the  most  important  conditions  determining 


40          PSYCHOLOGY    IN   EDUCATION 

attention  are  those  due  to  the  dispositional  interests 
developed  during  the  boy's  previous  life.  By  the 
action  of  his  experience  on  his  congenital  endow- 
ment, he  will  have  acquired  a  relatively  permanent 
tendency  to  feel  an  interest  in  certain  objects  or 
groups  of  objects.  In  the  presence  of  an  appropriate 
stimulus,  the  dispositional  interest  becomes  active, 
involving  a  corresponding  act  of  attention.  The 
boy's  interest  in  football  will  make  him  hear  the 
clock  strike  the  hour  at  which  he  is  free  to  play, 
while  under  other  conditions  the  sound  might  have 
passed  unnoticed. 

These  dispositional  interests  largely  determine 
the  course  of  the  boy's  mental  life  and,  being 
relatively  permanent,  manifest  themselves  in 
specific  habits  of  attention.  As  such  an  interest 
grows  more  comprehensive  and  coherent,  the 
corresponding  acts  of  attention  become  more 
systematic,  less  liable  to  distraction  by  irrelevant 
stimuli,  but  more  responsive  to  any  stimulus  con- 
nected with  the  interest.  Thus,  for  example,  the 
development  of  the  child's  interest  in  picking 
flowers  into  the  botanist's  devotion  to  his  science 
implies  the  evolution  of  a  complex  system  of  habits 
of  attention.  In  particular,  a  strong  dispositional 
interest  in  some  worthy  end  will  help  a  boy  to 
keep  his  attention  fixed  even  on  a  distasteful  obj  ect, 
and  so  tend  to  save  him  from  belonging  to  the  class 
of  frivolous  persons  whose  attention  is  at  the  mercy 
of  any  momentarily  attractive  stimulus.  It  follows 
that,  while  use  will  be  made  of  suitable  objective 
stimuli,  or  pre-formed  associations,  the  chief  method 
by  which  the  school  will  arouse  and  guide  the 
attention  of  its  pupils  will  be  by  fostering  the 
growth  of  healthy  dispositional  interests. 

Probably  the  main  weakness  of  the  traditional 
methods  of  teaching  has  been  their  failure  to  do 
this  to  the  fullest  possible  extent.  Schoolwork  has 
been  kept  too  much  apart  from  other  fields  of  vivid 
personal  experience. 

These  conditions  of  attention  are  exemplified  in  the 
social  influences  of  the  boy's  school  life.  The  words 
and  gestures  of  his  masters  and  companions  are 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          41 

among  the  most  potent  stimuli  which  challenge  his  at- 
tention. The  traditions  of  the  school  society  and  the 
exciting  incidents  of  school  life  give  rise  to  a  multi- 
tude of  strong  associations.  His  participation  in 
the  common  life  widens  his  aims  and  provides 
opportunities  for  their  pursuit,  and  thus  leads  to 
the  growth  of  dispositional  interests  of  great  value. 

Stimuli  and  Interests.  Individuals  differ  in  their 
ability  to  attend  to  various  classes  of  stimuli,  and 
in  the  general  character  of  their  attention.  Thus, 
one  boy's  attention  will  be  easily  aroused  by  a 
fresh  stimulus  of  almost  any  kind,  while  another 
boy  will  find  it  difficult  to  attend  to  unfamiliar 
presentations.  [See  e.g.  Rusk :  Experimental 
Education  (p.  41).]  The  further  investigation  of 
these  differences  is  likely  to  throw  light  upon  the 
methods  of  education  appropriate  for  children 
requiring  individual  treatment.  Valuable  results 
may  also  be  expected  from  a  systematic  inquiry 
into  the  changes  which  the  child's  attention  under- 
goes with  advancing  years.  [On  these  changes, 
see  Meumann :  Vorlesungen  uber  experimentelle 
Padagogik  (Vol.  I,  p.  139)  ;  Rusk  (p.  46).] 

But  the  kind  of  attention  paid  to  an  object 
depends  also,  in  part,  upon  the  character  of  the 
interest  involved.  If  our  interest  is  in  the  object 
for  its  own  sake,  so  that  our  adjustment  to,  or 
mastery  of,  the  object  is  an  end  in  itself,  our  atten- 
tion is  immediate.  If,  however,  we  are  interested  in 
the  obj  ect  as  a  means  to  a  further  end,  our  attention 
is  derivative.  A  boy  may  read  a  book  with 
attention  either  because  he  is  interested  in  what 
he  reads,  or  for  the  sake  of  passing  an  examination. 
Moreover,  the  nature  of  our  attention  varies  accord- 
ing to  the  kind  of  stimulus  by  which  it  is  aroused, 
We  may  be  said  to  have  different  attentions  for 
different  senses.  These  variations  in  the  process 
of  attention  have  led  some  writers  to  speak  of 
attentions  in  the  plural  rather  than  of  attention 
in  the  singular,  or  even  to  prophesy  that  the  term 
attention  will  disappear  altogether  from  scientific 
psychology  and  education.  [See  Rusk  (p.  38)  ; 
compare  Baldwin :  Mental  Development  in  the 


42          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

Child  and  the  Race  (p.  313)  ;  Pear,  in  the  "  Report 
of  a  Conference  of  London  County  Council  Teachers, 
1913  "  (p.  30)  ;  Watt:  Economy  and  Training  of 
Memory  (p.  38).]  Whether  this  will  be  so,  the  future 
must  decide.  At  present,  it  seems  convenient  to 
employ  the  term  to  denote  "  the  essential  form  of 
all  mental  activity  "  [Stout :  Manual  of  Psychology 
(p.  126)],  remembering  that  it  covers  a  wide  variety 
of  mental  processes. 

References— 

BAGLEY,  W.  C.     Educative  Process. 
BALDWIN,  T.  M.     Mental  Development  in  the  Child  and 

the  Race. 

JAMES,  W.     Principles  of  Psychology. 
McDoucALL,  W.     Social  Psychology. 
PILLSBURY,  W.  B.      Attention. 
RUSK,  R.  R.     Experimental  Education. 
STOUT,  G.  F.  and  BALDWIN,  T.  M.     Dictionary  of  Philo- 
sophy and  Psychology. 
STOUT,  G.  F.     Manual  of  Psychology. 
TITCHENER,  E.  B.     Psychology  of  Feeling  and  Attention. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          43 

SECTION   X 
INTEREST 

INTEREST  has  been  aptly  described  as  "  a  feeling 
of  the  worth,  to  the  self,  of  an  end  to  be  attained." 
The  term  is  sometimes  loosely  used  as  if 
interest  were  a  quality  attaching  to  certain 
objects,  as  when  we  say:  "  This  book  is  interesting." 
The  interest  is,  however,  not  a  characteristic  of  the 
object,  since  to  some  persons  the  same  book  may 
be  uninteresting;  it  rather  describes  some  relation 
existing  between  the  individual  mind  and  the 
object. 

The  statement  speaks  of  an  "  end  to  be  attained." 
Now  "  ends  "  maybe  of  every  conceivable  kind  and 
of  every  degree  of  nearness  or  remoteness.  For 
example,  we  may  extend  the  meaning  to  cover  an 
infant's  desire  to  examine  a  large,  bright-coloured 
flower,  or  an  adult's  attitude  of  mind  towards  an 
unpleasant  odour.  More  remote  ends  are  aimed  at 
when  a  child  silently  studies  a  page  purely  in  order 
to  gain  his  teacher's  approval,  or  when  Mrs.  Jellaby 
arranges  her  whole  life  towards  some  supposed 
future  good  of  the  community.  The  child  is  directly 
or  immediately  interested  in  the  teacher's  approval, 
and  indirectly  or  mediately  in  the  page;  the 
adult  immediately  in  the  good  of  the  com- 
munity and  mediately  in  the  means  she  adopts. 
The  child's  undeveloped  powers  of  conception 
usually  prevent  the  formation  of  very  remote  ends 
or  purposes. 

The  definition  speaks  also  of  a  "  feeling  of  the 
worth."  This  must  not  be  confused  with  the  feeling 
of  pleasure  or  pain  which  always  accompanies  a 
state  of  interest.  Some  writers  have  identified 
interest  with  the  pleasurable  or  painful  feelings 
called  forth  by  the  object  of  attention.  But  a  man 
may  be  much  interested  in  tattooing  himself, 
although  the  process  is  painful;  the  painful  feeling 
is,  however,  not  the  interest:  he  is  interested,  not  in 
the  pain,  but  in  spite  of  it. 


44  PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

It  is  clear  that  the  fundamental  quality  of 
interest  is  conative — the  impulse  towards  the  fulfil- 
ment of  desire,  the  reaching  forward  to  some  pur- 
pose. Thus  desire,  purpose,  activity,  and  effort  are 
fundamentally  connected  with  interest.  The  cona- 
tion is,  however,  not  blind;  there  is  also  an  intel- 
lectual element  in  interest,  a  cognitive  factor. 
The  object  or  end  is  cognized,  and  various  ways  and 
means  are  considered  as  serviceable  towards  attain- 
ment. The  guide  to  the  conation  is,  therefore,  to 
be  found  in  attention.  "  This  concentration,  step 
by  step,  from  the  beginning  of  the  process  to  the 
accomplishment,  is  the  work  of  attention,"  says 
Professor  Welton. 

The  School  Point  of  View.  The  school  is  chiefly 
concerned  with  the  opening  up  of  new  interests, 
or,  in  other  words,  with  inducing  the  formation  of 
new  and  useful  purposes.  Punishments  and  rewards 
cannot  be  used  as  substitutes  for  purpose,  for  they 
enforce  attention  to  themselves;  although  they 
may  sometimes  serve  a  useful  purpose  in  com- 
pelling attention  to  a  subject  long  enough  for  the 
matter  itself  to  arouse  interest.  Frequently,  how- 
ever, attention  and  interest  vanish  as  soon  as  the 
fear  of  punishment  or  the  hope  of  reward  is  removed. 
Even  work  done  from  a  sense  of  duty  may  entirely 
fail  to  induce  direct  interest.  The  arousing  of  pur- 
pose on  the  children's  part  is  essential,  and  is 
dependent  upon  the  presence  of  a  felt  need.  Thus, 
a  teacher  of  infants  may  suggest  the  game  of 
shopping;  the  game  involves  little  problems,  the 
solution  of  which  the  children  recognize  as  essential 
to  their  play  purpose;  they  feel  a  need  for  the 
knowledge,  they  become  interested  in  the  calcula- 
tions. To  secure  the  strongest  conation  in  the 
work  of  young  children,  the  practical  purpose  of  it 
must  be  clear;  and  the  purpose  must  be  the  child's 
and  not  the  teacher's  only.  Thus,  it  is  necessary 
to  ascertain  and  make  use  of  existing  childish 
desires  and  aims  in  such  a  manner  that  the  way 
towards  their  realization  leads  to  the  development 
of  fresh  interests.  Many  children  cannot  easily 
find  interest  in  subjects  which  appear  theoretical 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          45 

(e.g.  grammar,  French,  algebra).  But  as  soon  as 
the  teacher  gives  opportunities  for  applying  gram- 
matical rules,  for  constructing  conversational 
sentences,  for  solving  real  problems,  interest  is 
aroused  and  held. 

It  is  clearly  important  to  preserve  the  continuity 
of  the  conative  process.  It  may  be  possible  to  arouse 
and  maintain  attention  to  a  series  of  operations  only 
on  condition  that  those  operations  are  felt  to  be 
natural  and  necessary  steps  in  the  process  of  attain- 
ing the  end.  A  living,  self -formed  purpose  will  induce 
intensest  effort — the  effort  required  in  tackling 
uncongenial  and  often  difficult  work  recognized  as 
necessary  if  the  aim  is  to  be  achieved.  Moreover, 
the  interest  in  the  main  purpose  may  spread  to  the 
means,  and  may  be  maintained  even  if  interest  in 
the  purpose  dies.  The  child  who  tackles  a  few  geo- 
metrical problems  for  the  purpose  of  making  a 
perfect  kite,  may  find  the  indirectly  evoked  interest 
in  geometry  keen  long  after  he  has  lost  interest 
in  kites. 

The  problem  of  interest  is,  therefore,  the  vital 
and  permanent  educational  problem.  If  it  is  rightly 
handled,  and  not  transformed  into  the  problem  of 
how  to  amuse  or  give  pleasure,  the  schools  may 
produce  a  generation  of  men  and  women  armed 
with  purpose  and  prepared  to  expend  intense  and 
persistent  effort  towards  achievement. 


46          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION   XI 
EFFORT 

"  EFFORT  "  has  been  defined  as  the  process  of 
trying  to  realize  an  end,  to  achieve  a  purpose. 
In  true  play,  there  is  no  purpose  beyond  the  activity, 
and  therefore  no  real  effort.  Competitive  games, 
on  the  other  hand,  aim  definitely  at  a  desired  end, 
and  therefore  involve  all  degrees  of  effort.  The 
number  of  steps  between  desire  and  achievement 
will  vary  according  to  the  remoteness  and  com- 
plexity of  the  aim.  Thus,  in  seeking  to  realize  the 
desire  to  visit  a  friend,  the  stages  may  be  com- 
paratively few;  the  number  involved  in  the  attempt 
to  reach  perfection  of  character  is  very  great.  The 
processes  may  also  be  different  in  quality;  some 
may  be  congenial  and  some  uncongenial;  some  easy 
and  some  difficult. 

The  genesis  of  effort  is  to  be  found  in  desire. 
For  example,  some  object  may  arouse  the  instinct 
of  acquisition.  The  cognition  of  the  object  and  the 
emotion  incident  to  it  are  accompanied  by  a  cona- 
tion towards  the  object,  the  whole  mental  condi- 
tion being  known  as  "  desire."  The  effort  put  forth 
is  the  result  or  expression  of  desire,  and  is  primarily 
muscular  in  its  nature. 

The  teacher's  function  is,  therefore,  to  lead  his 
pupils  to  see  and  feel  the  worth  and  purpose  of  their 
work  in  school,  sometimes  by  demonstrating  its 
practical  value  and  sometimes  by  disclosing  higher 
purposes  in  such  an  inspiring  way  that  their  values 
may  be  appreciated  and  their  achievement  made 
to  appear  desirable.  When  a  child  perceives  that 
the  work  he  is  asked  to  undertake  leads  directly  to 
the  attainment  of  his  desires,  he  will  be  willing  to 
attack  it,  no  matter  how  arduous  or  painful  it 
may  be.  There  will  be  little  need  of  compulsion  or 
of  coaxing — methods  which  tend  to  distract  atten- 
tion from  the  real  purpose,  and  which  may  result 
in  the  cessation  even  of  this  distracted  attention 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          47 

as  soon  as  the  stimulus  is  removed.  If  the  teacher 
follows  the  course  Nature  reveals,  minor  errors  on 
his  part,  such  as  over-praise  or  lack  of  encourage- 
ment, the  undue  prominence  of  punishments  or 
rewards,  making  lessons  too  pleasant  or  unpleasant, 
may  fail  to  distract  the  pupil  from  his  purpose  or 
to  diminish  his  effort. 


48          PSYCHOLOGY    IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION   XII 
FATIGUE 

THE  problem  and  study  of  school  fatigue  is 
twofold — hygienic  and  educational.  The  first 
aspect  of  the  problem  is  well  stated  by  Professor 
Mosso:  "  When  children  are  taken  from  their 
peaceful  home  life  and  sent  to  school,  they  do  not 
at  first  feel  any  great  discomfort,  nor  are  they 
fatigued  by  the  new  mental  work,  because  the 
novelty  of  the  thing  diverts  them;  but  the  long 
fixation  of  attention  begins  to  tire,  and  ends  by 
exhausting  them  so  much  that  their  health  is 
affected;  and  we  can  all  see  this  for  ourselves  in  the 
pallor  which  takes  the  place  of  the  beautiful  rosy 
complexion  of  childhood.  The  children  become  less 
merry  and  lively,  lose  their  appetite,  become  dull 
or  more  excitable,  and  complain  of  headache." 
The  second  aspect  is  the  influence  of  fatigue  on 
mental  development  and  educational  progress. 
Genuine  fatigue  retards  both.  The  whole  problem 
of  fatigue  is  the  avoidance  of  an  important  obstacle 
to  the  attainment  of  the  chief  aim  of  education — 
a  sound  mind  in  a  sound  body. 

The  Nature  of  Fatigue.  Fatigue  is  one  of  Nature's 
defences  of  the  organism.  Up  to  a  certain  point, 
it  is  not  harmful.  The  limit,  however,  is  soon 
reached,  especially  in  childhood;  and  if  Nature's 
hints  are  disregarded,  the  penalty  has  to  be  paid. 
From  the  physiological  point  of  view,  fatigue  is 
primarily  an  auto-intoxication  or  self-poisoning  by 
waste  products  produced  within  the  system.  The 
classical  demonstration  of  this  fact  is  Mosso's 
well-known  experiment,  showing  that  a  little  blood 
drawn  from  a  dog  suffering  from  exhaustion  and 
injected  into  a  fresh  and  lively  animal,  immediately 
causes  the  latter  to  show  signs  of  fatigue.  But 
fatigue  is  also  due  to  the  exhaustion  of  nervous 
energy,  or,  rather — to  adhere  to  the  physiological 
standpoint — to  the  exhaustion  of  certain  substances 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          49 

whose  presence  in  the  nerve  cells  is  essential  to  the 
production  or  expenditure  of  energy.  The  changes 
in  the  nerve  cells  caused  by  fatigue  can  be  seen 
with  the  microscope.  According  to  Dr.  Crile: 
"  In  the  extreme  stage  of  exhaustion  from  over- 
exertion,  we  found  that  the  total  quantity  of  Nissel 
substance  was  enormously  reduced.  When  the 
exertion  was  too  greatly  prolonged,  it  took  weeks 
or  months  for  the  cells  to  be  restored  to  their 
normal  condition.  We  have  proved  that  in  exhaus- 
tion resulting  from  emotion  or  from  physical  over- 
work, a  certain  number  of  the  brain-cells  are  per- 
manently lost.  This  is  the  probable  explanation  of 
the  fact  that  an  athlete  or  a  racehorse  trained  to 
the  point  of  highest  efficiency  can  reach  his  maximum 
record  but  once  in  his  life."  These  statements  are 
of  great  importance  with  reference  to  school  fatigue. 
They  should  help  the  teacher  to  realize  that  children 
may  suffer  severely  from  emotion  and  from  physical 
overwork,  as  well  as  from  mental  strain;  while  the 
cases  of  the  athlete  and  the  racehorse  recall  the 
many  brilliant  schoolboys  who  have  never  been 
heard  of  in  later  life.  Other  experiments  of  Dr. 
Crile  have  given  an  ocular  demonstration  of  the 
restorative  value  of  sleep.  The  study  of  rabbits' 
brains  showed  that  "  eight  hours  of  continuous  sleep 
restored  all  the  cells  except  those  that  had  been 
completely  exhausted."  On  the  other  hand,  long- 
continued  insomnia  permanently  destroys  some  of 
the  brain  cells  in  the  same  manner  as  too  great 
physical  exertion  or  emotional  strain. 

The  Methods  of  Studying  School  Fatigue.  Fatigue 
in  school  children  is  studied  by  applying  certain 
tests  before  and  after  a  particular  lesson  or  at 
different  times  of  day.  The  tests  employed  always 
aim  at  measuring  something  believed  to  be  influ- 
enced by  the  degree  of  fatigue — for  example, 
muscular  power,  sensibility  to  touch,  or  quickness 
of  response.  As  examples  of  tests  which  have  been 
very  largely  used,  the  following  may  be  mentioned: 
(a)  Mosso's  Ergograph,  which  measures  muscular 
fatigue;  (b)  the  dynamometer,  which  measures  the 
grasping  power;  (c)  the  aesthesiometer,  which 

5— (1128) 


50          PSYCHOLOGY   IN  EDUCATION 

measures  sensory  discrimination;  (d)  adding  up 
columns  of  figures,  which  measures  quickness  and 
accuracy  of  work;  (e)  stroking  out  particular  letters 
on  a  page,  which  measures  quickness  and  accuracy 
of  observation.  The  study  of  fatigue  by  such 
methods  is  much  more  difficult  than  might  be 
supposed,  and  numerous  fallacies  lie  in  wait  for  the 
unwary.  For  example,  in  adding  up  a  column  of 
figures,  fatigue  certainly  diminishes  rapidity;  but, 
on  the  other  hand,  practice  increases  it.  Conse- 
quently, one  cannot  measure  the  amount  of  fatigue 
by  simply  observing  the  loss  in  speed  and  accuracy 
without  regard  to  the  gain  from  practice.  Again, 
children  are  likely  to  be  more  interested  in  a  test 
the  first  time  it  is  applied,  and  variation  in  interest 
will  affect  the  results  apart  altogether  from  fatigue. 
When  tests  are  applied  in  the  morning  and  after- 
noon, the  nature  of  the  mid-day  meal  is  likely  to 
be  a  disturbing  factor.  A  good  dinner  at  mid-day 
means  more  blood  to  the  stomach  and  less  to  the 
brain,  with  effects  upon  the  test  which  may  be 
attributed  too  readily  to  the  fatigue  of  the  morning 
lessons. 

The  Results  of  Studies  in  School  Fatigue.  So 
many  contradictory  statements  have  been  based 
upon  experimental  studies,  that  it  is  a  safe  rule 
for  the  teacher  not  to  accept  any  which  do  not 
accord  with  common  sense.  To  quote  one  example, 
Bellei  declares  that  "  the  work  done  by  children 
during  the  afternoon  lessons  is,  on  account  of  the 
great  mental  fatigue  it  involves,  of  no  advantage 
to  their  instruction,  but  full  of  danger  to  their 
health  ";  whereas  Heck  and  others  have  recently 
found  but  little  evidence  of  fatigue  in  the  after- 
noon— not  enough  to  warrant  any  adaptation  of 
school  procedure  to  it.  Such  different  results  do 
not  necessarily  imply  faulty  observation,  but  may 
depend  upon  actual  differences  in  some  of  the 
many  conditions  upon  which  school  fatigue  depends. 

Symptoms  of  Fatigue.  Temporary  fatigue  is 
indicated  by  such  symptoms  as  a  wearied  expres- 
sion, inattention,  or  fidgetiness  in  class.  Chronic 
fatigue,  when  approximating  to  the  condition 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          51 

popularly  known  as  overpressure,  produces  similar 
but  more  marked  symptoms.  The  face  becomes 
dull  and  expressionless,  the  eyes  are  somewhat 
sunken,  and  the  head  has  a  tendency  to  droop. 
The  child  becomes  dull  and  listless  instead  of  alert 
and  active.  Twitching  of  the  fingers  may  be  noticed, 
and,  on  inquiry,  it  is  found  that  the  pupil  sleeps 
badly,  and  grinds  his  teeth  or  talks  in  his  sleep. 
His  appetite  is  poor  and  he  loses  flesh.  His  temper 
becomes  fretful  and  irritable;  he  dawdles  over  his 
tasks,  is  disinclined  to  play,  and  often  becomes 
morbidly  dreamy  or  introspective.  Such  symptoms 
should  be  regarded  as  a  serious  warning  that  the 
child  requires  medical  attention  and  supervision. 
The  Prevention  of  School  Fatigue.  Space  only 
permits  of  a  brief  enumeration  of  the  conditions 
to  which  attention  must  be  directed,  in  order  to 
prevent  school  fatigue  of  a  harmful  degree — 

(a)  SCHOOL  HYGIENE.     The  ideal  school  should 
combine  "  fresh  air  "  conditions  as  the  phrase  is 
understood  in  sanatoria,  with  a  comfortably  warm 
atmosphere.    The  new  Staffordshire  type  of  school 
is  an  important  advance  in  this  direction. 

(b)  MEDICAL  INSPECTION.    This  is  now  provided 
for  by  law;  but  children  should  be  inspected,  even 
if  not  thoroughly  examined,  annually  instead  of 
every  three  years  or  so. 

(c)  FOOD.    Sufficient  nourishing   food  is  essen- 
tial   to   supply  the  energy   necessary  for   school 
work. 

(d)  SLEEP.  In  all  ages  and  in  all  classes  of  society, 
the  health  of  children  often  suffers  from  insufficient 
sleep.     This  has  been  proved  by  Miss  RavenhilTs 
investigations  among  the  poor,  and  Dr.  Acland's 
study  of  the  hours  of  sleep  provided  for  in  the 
great  public  schools.    Naturally  the  hygienic  con- 
ditions  in    the  children's  sleeping-rooms  have   a 
marked  influence  on  school  work. 

(e)  EMPLOYMENT.    Many  children  are  employed 
as  wage-earners  out  of   school  hours — e.g.  in  one 
school  nearly  25  per   cent,   of  children  over    12. 
Such  employment  should  be  strictly  limited  by  the 
local  education  authorities. 


52 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN  EDUCATION 


Length  of  Lessons 
requiring  Concentration  of  Attention. 


At 


6  years    . 

7  to  10  years 
10  to  12 

12  to  14 


15  minutes 

20 

25 

30 


Total  Amount  of  School  Work 
involving  Attention. 


From  5  to 

6  years  of  age   6  hrs.  per  wk. 

6  to 

7 

9 

7  to 

8 

12 

8  to 

9 

15 

9  to 

10 

18 

10  to 

11 

21* 

11  to 

12 

25 

12  to 

14 

30 

14  to 

15 

35 

15  to 

16 

40 

Amount  of  Sleep  required  at  Various  Ages. 

Under     6  .        .        .        .13     hours 

.        .        .        .      12J 


7 

8 

9 

10 

13 

15 

17 

19 


12 

Hi 
11 

IS* 


(/)  ARRANGEMENT  OF  SCHOOL  WORK.  In  the 
case  of  young  children,  very  short  lesson  periods 
should  alternate  with  exercise  or  play.  As  children 
grow  older,  the  length  of  the  lesson  periods  should 
increase  gradually,  the  most  suitable  length  depend- 
ing partly  on  the  age  of  the  children  and  partly 
on  the  amount  of  concentration  the  subject  demands. 
The  most  fatiguing  subjects  should  be  taken  in  the 
forenoon.  Hard  and  easy  subjects  should  alternate. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          53 

or  two  hard  subjects  should  be  separated  by  a  short 
period  of  recreation  or  exercise.  A  careful  correla- 
tion of  subjects  is  of  practical  importance  in  the 
limitation  of  fatigue.  The  amount  of  home  work 
required  should  be  moderate. 

(g)  HOURS  SPENT  IN  SCHOOL.  No  law  can  be 
laid  down  as  to  the  length  of  time  which  children 
should  spend  in  school.  This  depends  upon  the 
school  conditions.  In  some  Montessori  schools, 
children  under  five  spend  the  whole  day  (i.e.  from 
9  till  6)  not  only  without  fatigue,  but  with  benefit 
to  their  health. 

(h)  HOLIDAYS.  These  should  be  short  and  fairly 
frequent  in  the  case  of  school  children,  whose  require- 
ments are  quite  different  from  those  of,  say,  uni- 
versity students.  On  the  other  hand,  a  long, 
quiet  country  holiday  is  the  best  treatment  for 
chronic  fatigue  and  its  concomitant  nervous 
symptoms. 

Fatigue  Tables.  The  tables  on  page  52  are  given 
for  reference,  but  are  not  to  be  taken  as  of 
universal  application,  seeing  that  children  and 
circumstances  differ  widely. 

The  third  table  is  Dr.  Duke's.  The  allowance  is 
slightly  higher  than  the  minimum  standard  of  other 
authorities. 

References — 

CRILE,  G.  W.     The  Origin  and  Nature  of  the  Emotions. 
Mosso,  A.     Fatigue. 
STRONG,  E.  K.     Work,  Fatigue,  and  Inhibition. 


54          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION   XIII 
PERCEPTION 

THE  term  "  perception  "  implies  knowledge  of  the 
world  of  material  things  in  which  we  live.  With  this 
world  we  make  acquaintance  through  the  sensations 
we  receive  from  it.  This  is  so  much  a  matter  of 
everyday  experience,  that  it  is  only  when  we  begin 
to  examine  its  nature,  and  to  inquire  into  its 
method,  that  we  find  questions  raised  that  are 
not  easily  answered,  and  on  the  answers  to  which 
depend  the  fundamental  principles  of  instruction. 

Into  the  ultimate  questions  of  the  nature  of  the 
mind  that  knows,  and  of  the  matter  that  is 
known,  and  of  the  relations  between  them,  we  need 
not  enter.  Ours  is  the  simpler  task  of  inquiring 
how,  on  the  assumption  that  both  mind  and  matter 
are  in  some  sense  real,  the  one  gains  knowledge  of 
the  other. 

The  first  crude  solution  offered  by  the  unreflective 
consciousness  would  probably  be  that  the  mind  is 
a  kind  of  mirror  which  reflects  copies  of  things. 
Over  that  we  need  not  linger.  Science,  by  reducing 
all  impressions  on  the  organs  of  sense  to  forms  of 
vibration,  cuts  away  the  ground  on  which  the  pro- 
posed explanation  must  be  based,  and  makes 
further  criticism  superfluous.  More  examination  is 
needed  of  the  theory  so  long  expounded  by  the 
majority  of  psychologists  that  the  primary  con- 
stituents of  consciousness  are  independently  exist- 
ing sensations  which  gradually  become  associated 
in  repeated  experience,  so  that  when  the  same 
group  has  occurred  together  a  number  of  times 
we  regard  it  as  representative  of  an  external 
object. 

The  essence  of  this  doctrine  is  that  knowledge 
of  the  external  world  is  passively  received  by  a 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN   EDUCATION          55 

mind  devoid  of  initiative,  and  consequently  formed 
wholly  by  its  environment,  and  that  its  worth 
depends  on  number  and  variety  of  experiences. 
Hence  comes  the  doctrine  that  it  is  good  to  form 
the  habit  of  comprehensive  observation,  super- 
ficial though  it  must  be,  and  the  corollary  that 
increase  of  knowledge  beyond  the  sphere  of  per- 
sonal observation  should  be  on  the  same  lines  of 
accumulating  as  great  a  store  as  possible  of  facts. 
A  whole  theory  of  pedagogy  is,  therefore,  involved 
in  this  doctrine  of  perception;  and  if  this  latter  be 
true,  every  incompatible  method  of  instruction 
must  be  not  only  ineffective  but  disastrous,  as 
opposed  to  the  way  in  which  mind  really  works. 

The  doctrine  is,  however,  demonstrably  false. 
It  takes  the  ultimate  results  of  analysis  as  original 
elements  of  consciousness.  There  are  no  such  things 
in  the  world  of  reality  as  sensations  existing  by 
themselves  and  then  combining  in  various  ways. 
Little  study  of  the  way  in  which  we  actually  attain 
a  piece  of  knowledge  is  needed  to  show  us  that  we 
do  not  first  grasp  each  individual  element  and  then 
combine  them  into  a  whole,  but  that  we  first 
vaguely  apprehend  the  whole  and  then  proceed 
by  analytic  study  to  make  that  apprehension 
distinct  in  its  elements.  All  advance  of  knowledge, 
as  we  know  it  in  adult  life,  is  towards  greater 
definiteness.  Examination  of  the  early  life  of 
children  shows  that  the  beginnings  of  knowledge 
are  on  the  same  lines  as  its  later  advances.  The 
earliest  acquaintance  of  the  babe  with  the  world 
of  things  is  not  in  the  form  of  a  number  of  isolated 
and  distinct  sensations  which  he  has  to  build  up 
into  as  true  a  representation  of  the  world  as  possible. 
On  the  contrary,  all  is  both  vague  and  confused. 
The  sensations  of  one  sense  are  not  distinguished 
from  those  of  another,  nor  the  child's  body  from 
surrounding  objects.  Indeed,  to  him  there  are  as 
yet  no  objects.  Those  he  has  to  find. 

Now,  in  the  first  place,  be  it  noted  that  this 
finding  means  selection  of  those  parts  of  the  whole 
mass  which  have  most  attraction  for  him.  At  first, 
the  directive  force  is  instinct;  but  soon  the  influence 


56          PSYCHOLOGY  IN   EDUCATION 

of  discriminative  intelligence  is  seen  in  more  or 
less  definite  choice  between  the  promptings  of 
several  instincts.  And  choice  implies  at  once  a 
learning  from  the  past  and  a  looking  forward  to  the 
future.  Moreover,  such  selection  is  not  an  isolated 
event;  it  is  part  of  a  continuous  activity  prompted 
by  instinct  and  increasingly  guided  by  intelligence. 
The  objects  perceived  are,  then,  perceived  not 
simply  as  of  such  and  such  a  kind,  but  in  such  and 
such  relative  positions  with  regard  to  each  other. 
Further,  perception  is  essentially  the  expectation 
that  if  certain  acts  are  done,  certain  results  will 
follow.  For  we  never  have  concurrently  all  the 
sensations  which  an  object  can  give  us,  and,  as 
knowledge  becomes  more  precise,  less  and  less  is 
needed  to  present  the  whole  to  the  mind  (e.g.  the 
scent  of  an  unseen  flower  may  set  us  searching 
for  it). 

Implications  of  the  Theory.  When  the  implica- 
tions of  all  this  are  examined,  even  the  most 
elementary  perception  is  seen  to  be  a  complete 
piece  of  life,  in  which  are  implicit  many  forms  of 
mental  activity  which  in  analysis  can  be  dis- 
tinguished from  it.  They  are  implicit  in  that  they 
are  not  attended  to;  but  they  are  present,  because 
without  them  the  act  of  perception  could  not  take 
place.  Retention  of  the  past  is  necessary  for 
recognition,  but  in  mere  recognition  there  is  no 
call  for  explicit  memory.  Recognition  as  this  or 
that  kind  of  thing  further  involves  conception,  for, 
without  the  assimilation  of  likes  into  a  class,  no 
such  recognition  is  possible.  But,  in  perception, 
such  relations  are  not  explicitly  thought.  And 
so  on. 

The  theory  of  instruction  implied  by  this  analysis 
is  evidently  opposed  to  that  already  noted.  Know- 
ledge is  no  longer  something  to  be  acquired  and 
stored:  it  is  a  developing  mode  of  life.  Knowledge 
of  things  is  gained  in  practical  dealing  with  them 
in  ways  determined  by  felt  purposes.  Increased 
knowledge  implies  greater  insight  into  such  rela- 
tions as  those  of  similarity,  dissimilarity,  space, 
time,  and  causation.  To  these  abstract  aspects  of 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          57 

perceived  things,  attention  should  be  directed  at 
need.  To  suppose  perception,  conception,  and 
reasoning  to  be  distinct  successive  stages  of  develop- 
ment is  to  misapprehend  entirely  the  process  by 
which  man  learns  to  know. 

References — 
JAMES    W.     Principles  of  Psychology  (2  vols.)   (Chaps. 

XIX— XXI). 
MITCHELL  W.  Structure  and  Growth  of  Mind  (Led.  I X* 

XII). 

ROYCE   J.    Outlines  of  Psychology  (Chaps.  IX — XI). 
STOUT,  G.  F.     A  Manual  of  Psychology  (Bk.  III). 
WELTON,  J.     Psychology  of  Education  (Chap.  VI). 


58          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION   XIV 
APPERCEPTION 

APPERCEPTION  is  the  process  whereby  an  object 
is  not  merely  recognized,  but  comprehended  more 
fully  than  ever  before.  To  appreciate  this  distinc- 
tion between  mere  recognition  and  the  higher 
cognition  involved  in  a  more  or  less  complete 
comprehension  of  an  object,  a  knowledge  of  the 
psychology  of  association  and  abstraction  is  a 
necessary  preliminary. 

No  cognition  is  possible  unless  the  object  pre- 
sented arouses,  by  virtue  of  associations  already 
formed,  some  traces  of  past  experience.  Both  the 
kinds  of  cognition  referred  to,  therefore,  involve 
the  revival  of  traces  of  previous  experience.  To  take 
a  simple  case,  the  baby  recognizes  his  rattle  at  a 
distance  in  so  far  as  the  visual  sensations  which  he 
now  has  can  revive  traces  of  the  tactual,  kinaes- 
thetic  and  auditory  sensations  previously  enjoyed 
in  dealings  with  that  object.  And  this  revival  is 
possible  because  these  latter  sensations,  having  in 
past  experience  occurred  in  close  connection  with 
the  visual  ones,  have  become  indissolubly  associated 
with  them,  and  are  now  partially  revived  by  them. 
At  the  same  time,  there  is  aroused,  also,  an  impulse 
to  repeat  former  movements;  and  the  child  is  seen 
clutching  at  the  object.  Here,  then,  we  have  an 
example  of  mere  recognition,  or  perception,  as  it  is 
often  called.  This  process  takes  place  with  the 
lower  animals,  as  well  as  with  human  beings. 

Let  us  now  examine  an  instance  of  a  more 
complex  cognition  (i.e.  of  apperception).  Suppose 
that  the  same  child  is  now  at  school,  and  is  asked 
to  draw  and  paint  the  rattle.  Obviously,  when  the 
object  is  first  put  before  him,  it  is  perceived  in  a 
manner  similar  to  that  just  described,  the  only 
difference  being  that,  since  much  more  tactual, 
kinaesthetic,  auditory,  and  other  experience  has 
been  obtained  with  this  and  other  somewhat  similar 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          59 

objects,  the  results  of  that  experience  having  been 
"  boiled  down  "  into  more  stable  and  more  readily 
revivable  residues,  the  process  is  more  unerring; 
so  far,  however,  it  is  merely  perception.  But  if  the 
child  is  to  draw,  and  paint  the  object,  he  must 
revive  and  bring  to  bear  on  it  (still  by  virtue  of 
associations  enabling  the  results  of  past  experience 
to  be  recalled)  further  psychical  elements  of  a  more 
or  less  abstract  nature. 

Ideas  and  Their  Relations.  What,  now,  is  the 
nature  of  these  governing  ideas  ?  Human  beings 
can  single  out  parts,  or  aspects,  of  the  concrete 
wholes  which  are  presented  to  them  in  mere  per- 
ception. They  can  compare  objects,  retaining  or 
reviving  the  idea  of  one  while  perceiving  another, 
and  noticing  differences  or  likenesses  between  them. 
In  this  process  they  are  greatly  helped  by  language. 
Elements  thus  singled  out  and  associated  with 
words  or  equivalent  signs  are  called  abstract  ideas. 
But  abstract  ideas  are  more  or  less  connected 
elements.  When,  for  instance,  a  human  being  has 
observed  sufficiently  to  be  able  to  state  unerringly 
that  a  given  object  is  exactly  square,  he  has  acquired 
a  system  of  abstract  ideas  (i.e.  a  number  of  abstract 
ideas  which  are  not  separate  elements,  but  so 
intimately  related  as  to  form  an  organized  com- 
bination) ;  he  realizes  that  a  square  is  a  plane,  recti- 
lineal figure  bounded  by  four  equal  lines  which 
meet  one  another  at  right  angles.  All  definitions 
and  laws,  or  general  statements,  are  expressions  of 
suchsystems  of  ideas.  We  may  call  them  general  truths. 

Now,  to  direct  the  process  of  drawing  the  rattle, 
the  child  must  bring  to  bear  systems  of  abstract 
ideas  in  the  spheres  of  shape,  size,  and  colour. 
He  must  be  able  not  only  to  perceive  the  object, 
but  to  apperceive  or  observe  it  on  the  lines  indicated. 

Apperception,  Reasoning,  and  Observation.  Apper- 
ception is  often  spoken  of  as  a  process  of  interaction 
between  the  old  and  the  new  (i.e.  between  the 
ideational  furniture  or  apperceptive  systems  already 
elaborated,  and  capable  of  being  aroused  and 
brought  to  bear,  and  the  object  or  situation  pre- 
sented). Apperception  is  involved  in  all  solving  of 


60          PSYCHOLOGY  IN   EDUCATION 

problems,  as  in  each  case  some  object  or  situation 
is  presented  and  a  requirement  is  made  for  further 
knowledge  with  regard  to  it,  which  can  be  obtained 
only  by  reviving  and  bringing  to  bear  some  of  the 
ideational  machinery  already  possessed.  But  the 
solving  of  problems  is  usually  known  as  reasoning. 
Hence,  reasoning' is  apperception.  If  we  choose  to 
confine  the  term  reasoning  to  the  solving  of  more 
complex  problems,  we  can  say  that  reasoning  is  the 
highest  form  of  apperception.  But  if  we  prefer  to 
extend  the  meaning  of  reasoning  to  cover  all  cases 
in  which  we  use  abstract  systems  of  ideas  already 
possessed  to  learn  more  about  any  particular  object 
or  situation,  we  can  say  that  reasoning,  apperception, 
and  observation  are  synonymous.  The  same  object, 
however,  may  be  apperceived  differently  according 
to  the  system  of  ideas  aroused  on  its  presentation. 
Thus,  if  the  accompanying  figure  be  shown  to 
different  persons,  or  the  same  person  at  different 
times,  it  may  be  variously  comprehended.  If  the 
ideas  aroused  are  of  plane,  rectilineal  figures,  it 
may  be  apperceived  as  a  trapezoid  with  two  sides 
parallel.  If  ideas  of  perspective  predominate,  it 
may  be  taken  as  a  square  placed  exactly  in  front 
of  and  a  little  above  the  level  of  the  eye.  If  the 
apperceptive  system  summed  up  by  the  word 

"  dishes  "  prevails, 

the  figure  may  be 
conceived  to  repre- 
sent a  straight- 
sided  bowl  placed 
exactly  on  a  level 
with  the  eye.  Simi- 
larly, it  might  be 

taken  as  a  hat,  or  a  boat,  or  as  some  other  thing. 
It  is  the  teacher's  business  in  most  lessons  to  see 
that  objects  are  similarly  apperceived  by  all  the 
pupils.  If  this  is  to  be  the  case,  the  apperceptive 
systems  must  obviously  not  be  allowed  to  arise 
casually  (i.e.  according  to  the  state  of  each  child's 
mind  when  the  object  is  presented  without  any 
previous  preparation).  Often  the  necessary  systems 
must  be  expressly  aroused.  Hence  the  need  of 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          61 

careful  introductions  to  many  lessons,  and  of  pre- 
cision in  the  framing  of  questions  and  in  the  setting 
of  problems.  The  teacher,  for  instance,  who,  with- 
out any  qualification,  asks,  "  What  do  you  notice 
about  that  ?  "  is  opening  the  door  to  a  host  of 
mental  visitors  who  may  easily  bring  chaos  instead 
of  harmony  into  the  lesson. 


62  PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION  XV 
IMAGINATION 

THE  practice  of  using  the  word  "  imagination  " 
in  psychology  exemplifies  the  difficulty  of 
employing  for  scientific  purposes  terms  borrowed 
from  common  diction  and  infected  with  its  am- 
biguities. The  word  has,  in  ordinary  discourse, 
two  chief  meanings.  (1)  It  signifies  the  production 
of  a  mental  image  of  an  absent  object,  as  when  one 
sees  in  imagination  this  morning's  breakfast  table, 
or  hears  in  imagination  a  band  of  pipers,  or  enjoys 
in  imagination  the  fragrance  of  meadow-sweet. 
(2)  It  is  also  applied  to  certain  intellectual  processes 
of  high  level,  especially  to  the  "  imagination " 
of  the  inventor,  the  poet,  the  novelist,  the  man  of 
science. 

To  avoid  ambiguity  the  psychologist  may  (as 
in  the  parallel  instance  of  the  use  of  "  force  "  in 
mechanics)  restrict  the  scientific  use  of  the  term 
to  one  of  these  meanings.  Thus  William  James, 
in  his  chapter  on  Imagination  (Pr.  of  Psych.,  ch. 
xviii),  takes  it  to  mean  the  formation  of  mental 
images  and  nothing  else.  His  usage  is  supported 
by  etymology  but  has  serious  inconveniences. 
The  formation  of  mental  images  occurs  as  an 
incident  in  psychological  processes  of  widely 
different  types.  For  example,  I  may  hold  in  my 
mind  an  image  of  a  man's  voice  in  the  hope  that 
it  will  remind  me  of  his  name;  or  build  up  a  mental 
picture  in  order  to  follow  a  friend's  description  of 
his  new  motor-cycle;  or  call  up  imagery  to  deepen 
my  enjoyment  of  Keats's  "  sweet  peas  on  tip-toe 
for  a  flight."  Now  if  the  mere  occurrence  of  images 
in  these  processes  makes  them  all  instances  of 
imagination,  some  qualifications  are  needed  to 
distinguish  the  different  purposes  that  the  imagery 
subserves.  So  we  have  the  terms  "  reproductive 
imagination  "  (which  is  practically  equivalent  to 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          63 

vivid  recollection),  "  interpretative  imagination  " 
(equivalent  to  "  understanding "),  and  "  pro- 
ductive imagination  " — the  last  being  reserved  for 
invention  and  original  art  and  thought.  But,  in 
addition  to  being  largely  redundant,  these  terms  are 
open  to  the  objection  that  they  emphasize  the 
wrong  thing.  They  suggest  that  the  presence  of 
images  is  the  essential  feature  in  remembering, 
understanding,  reasoning,  invention,  whereas  that 
feature  is,  in  fact,  often  only  of  subordinate 
importance  and  may  sometimes  be  almost  entirely 
absent. 

On  the  whole,  then,  it  seems  better  to  keep 
imagination  for  the  higher  "  creative  "  processes, 
and  to  describe  the  mere  production  of  images  by 
some  term,  such  as  "  imaging,"  which  has  no 
divergent  associations.  We  are  thus  led,  dis- 
regarding the  part  played  by  imagery,  to  inquire 
what  is  the  common  feature  of  these  higher 
processes.  In  doing  so,  it  is  important  not  to  be 
misled  by  the  popular  antithesis  between  the 
"  imaginary  "  and  the  "  real."  The  traveller  who 
remarked  that  Turkish  statistics  are  admirable 
if  regarded  as  works  of  imagination,  but  valueless 
for  scientific  purposes,  had  this  antithesis  in  mind, 
and  made  playful  use  of  it;  but  it  must  also  be 
remembered  that  great  investigators  have  declared 
imagination  to  be  the  prime  instrument  of  scientific 
discovery.  That  is,  imagination  is  not  only  the 
weaver  of  fiction  but  also  the  light  that  discloses 
truth.  What,  then,  is  the  common  factor  by  whose 
virtue  it  produces  such  widely  diverse  effects? 

The  answer  is  that  imagination,  in  the  sense  here 
followed,  is  the  expression,  in  intellectual  activity, 
of  that  creative  element  or  spontaneity  which  is 
one  of  the  essential  characters  of  all,  and  especially 
of  human,  life.  Mind  has  the  power  not  only  of 
retaining  its  experiences,  but  also  of  selecting, 
remoulding  and  recombining  them  for  practical 
ends,  or  in  the  disinterested  pursuit  of  knowledge, 
or  to  explore  the  beauty  and  mystery  of  the  world, 
or  for  mere  enjoyment  of  its  own  activity;  and  this 
power  is  the  essence  of  imagination. 


64          PSYCHOLOGY   IN  EDUCATION 

It  follows  that  imagination  always  goes  beyond 
what  is  before  the  senses  here  and  now.  That  fact 
explains  both  why  ordinary  language  calls  imaging 
imagination,  and  why  it  contrasts  the  imaginary 
with  the  actual.  But  however  remote  from  actuality 
the  constructions  of  imagination  may  be,  their 
elements  are  always  derived  from  reality;  only  the 
pattern  in  which  they  are  recombined  can  be  new. 
This  is  true  even  of  myths  and  extravagant  fiction — 
such  as  W.  K.  Clifford's  tale  about  the  giant  whose 
favourite  food  was  bread  and  butter  sprinkled 
with  light  brown  horses.  But,  as  Professor 
Alexander  has  said  (Time,  Space  and  Deity,  i.,  146), 
fiction  itself  is  not  necessarily  fictitious;  for  instance, 
the  imagination  of  a  great  dramatist  or  novelist, 
so  far  from  falsifying  experience,  brings  out  essential 
features  of  experience  that  the  ordinary,  unimagina- 
tive man  would  miss.  While,  as  was  pointed  out 
above,  the  imagination  that  qualifies  what  is  seen 
by  what  is  not  seen,  and  so  explains  it,  is  the 
very  essence  of  science. 

These  observations  make  clear  in  what  sense 
certain  school  subjects — literature,  science,  history, 
geography — may  "  train  "  the  imagination.  They 
cannot  foster  a  power  to  create  out  of  nothing 
(as  teachers  appear  sometimes  to  suppose);  for  no 
such  power  exists.  But  when  properly  taught, 
they  do  serve  to  widen  and  deepen  the  pupil's 
vision  of  the  actual  world;  and  that  is  the  most 
important  function  of  imagination. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          65 


SECTION   XVI 
THE  EDUCATION  OF  THE  WILL 

THE  education  of  the  will  is  often  discussed  under 
the  general  head  of  the  training  of  character, 
without  much  explicit  reference  to  the  special 
problems  which  the  education  of  the  will  in  the 
strict  sense  involves.  This  treatment  of  the  subject 
tends  to  obscure  the  importance  of  developing  in 
the  boy  (or  girl,  and  so  elsewhere)  the  specific  power 
of  voluntary  decision  or  choice.  Similarly,  the 
schools  are  apt  to  rely  upon  the  effects  produced 
upon  the  boys'  characters  by  the  schools'  corporate 
life,  the  instruction  they  provide,  and  the  influence 
of  their  masters,  without  attempting  definitely  to 
train  their  boys'  wills  as  such.  The  excellent  results 
obtained  by  many  schools  cannot  be  questioned 
for  a  moment,  but  it  may  be  suggested  that,  if  these 
schools  employed  their  present  methods  with  a 
more  clearly  defined  intent,  new  possibilities  of 
achievement  would  open  out  before  them.  If  the 
average  school  conceived  its  task  of  educating  its 
boys'  wills  with  the  same  precision  as  that  with 
which  it  now  views  the  problem  of  cultivating  their 
intelligence,  the  whole  educational  outlook  would 
be  changed. 

The  question  to  be  here  considered  is  how  a  boy 
can  be  encouraged  to  acquire  a  habit  of  effective 
voluntary  decision.  The  answer  to  this  question 
can  only  be  suggested  in  vague  outline,  but  one 
important  principle  seems  to  stand  out  in  clear 
relief.  Our  knowledge  of  the  characteristics  of  an 
act  of  will,  which  has  been  rendered  more  definite 
by  recent  psychological  investigation  and  experi- 
ment, appears  to  warrant  the  conclusion  that  the 
will  is  trained  primarily  by  being  exercised  under 
appropriate  conditions,  and  not  by  instruction, 
though  the  latter  is  often  of  great  value. 

The  Nature  of  Willing.  Like  other  mental  pro- 
cesses, the  act  of  willing  has  three  aspects,  the 

6—  (1128) 


66          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

conative,  affective,  and  cognitive.  Of  these  aspects 
the  conative  is  central,  and  its  special  character- 
istics are  reflected  in  the  other  two.  In  the  exper- 
ience of  willing,  we  are  conscious  that  we  ourselves 
are  the  cause  or  source  of  our  activity.  It  is  our 
resolution,  "  I  will  do  this,"  which,  with  our 
consequent  action,  leads  to  the  attainment  of  some 
end  selected  by  ourselves.  Obstacles  may  intervene, 
but  in  the  act  of  will  these  obstacles  are  neglected 
or  taken  as  surmountable.  Otherwise  the  act  of 
will  is  obstructed;  we  lose  confidence  in  ourselves 
and  cannot  whole-heartedly  devote  ourselves  to  the 
realization  of  our  chosen  aim.  But,  secondly,  an 
act  of  will  owes  its  vigour  to  the  strength  of  the 
impulses,  emotions,  or  sentiments  which  will  find 
satisfaction  in  the  results  of  the  chosen  course  of 
action.  The  emotions  are  connected  with  the 
thought  of  some  end  from  the  attainment  of  which 
satisfaction  is  expected,  and  are  therefore  prospec- 
tive emotions  of  desire.  Thirdly,  the  end  which 
we  resolve  to  gain  must  be  conceived  as  not  yet 
realized,  but  as  realizable  by  or  in  our  own  activity. 

It  follows  that  a  process  of  mental  construction 
is  required,  and,  if  the  act  of  will  is  to  give  us  per- 
manent satisfaction,  this  process  must  be  reasonably 
complete.  The  end  must  be  viewed  in  its  relations 
with  other  ends;  we  must  have  adequate  knowledge 
of  the  results  involved  in  its  attainment,  and  the 
means  by  which  it  can  be  attained.  More  particu- 
larly, we  must  think  of  the  achievement  of  the  end 
as  our  own  act,  as  part  of  our  own  history.  We  must 
bring  the  idea  of  ourselves  as  willing  the  act  into 
relation  with  our  permanent  conception  of  our  own 
character,  our  interests  and  ideals.  If  we  deliberate 
before  choosing  between  different  courses  of  action, 
"  the  alternative  is  not  '  this  '  or  '  that '  but  '  shall 
7  do  this  ?  '  or  '  shall  /  do  that  ?  '  Each  line  of 
action  with  its  results  is  considered  not  in  isolation, 
but  as  part  of  the  ideally  constructed  whole  for 
which  the  word  '  I  '  stands." 

Training  the  Will.  This  brief  analysis  of  a  volun- 
tary act  throws  light  upon  the  methods  by  which 
the  boy's  will  may  be  trained.  The  necessary 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN    EDUCATION          67 

conative,  affective,  and  cognitive  dispositions  must 
be  developed  in  combination  with  each  other. 
Thus  it  is  possible  to  increase  the  boy's  ability  to 
initiate  or  determine  his  own  activity  by  providing 
him  with  numerous  and  appropriate  opportunities 
for  the  exercise  of  his  will,  particularly  in  practical 
affairs.  In  this  way  will  and  achievement  become 
inseparably  associated.  Further,  since  the  boy's 
will  owes  its  strength  to  his  emotions  and  senti- 
ments, the  education  of  his  will  involves  the  foster- 
ing of  his  delight  in  knowledge  or  in  helping  others, 
his  devotion  to  his  school,  and  other  more  or  less 
permanent  systems  of  emotions.  But  the  emotions 
here  concerned  are  emotions  of  desire,  depending 
for  their  satisfaction  partly,  at  any  rate,  upon  the 
boy's  own  efforts.  They  will,  therefore,  be  devel- 
oped mainly  through  the  satisfaction  of  their 
conative  tendencies,  not  merely  by  learning  about 
the  objects  which  arouse  them.  Thirdly,  with  the 
growth  of  his  knowledge  and  power  of  mental 
construction,  the  boy  should  acquire  the  habit  of 
due  deliberation.  He  should  learn  to  attend  not 
merely  to  the  momentary  advantage  of  a  course 
of  action,  but  also  to  its  more  permanent  effect 
upon  his  life.  Thus  his  powers  of  self-control  and 
of  resistance  to  temptation  will  be  strengthened. 

Lastly,  while  special  stress  will  be  laid  upon  the 
boy's  own  active  experience,  no  single  aspect  of 
the  education  of  the  will  should  be  emphasized  to 
the  neglect  of  others.  A  one-sided  insistence  upon 
the  conative  aspect  will  tend  to  make  the  boy 
obstinate  and  headstrong  ;  the  exaltation  of  the 
affective  aspect  will  encourage  him  to  be  impulsive 
and  sentimental;  concentration  upon  the  cognitive 
aspect  will  help  to  make  him  an  ineffective  Hamlet. 
It  is  the  whole  boy  that  must  be  trained  to  be 
a  self -directing  agent. 

References — 

ACH,    N.     Uber   die    Willenstatigkeit   und   das    Denken. 

Willensakt  und  das  Temperament, 
HART,  B.     Psychology  oj  Insanity  (for  effects  ot  repressed 

emotional  reactions). 


68          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

MITCHELL,  W.     Structure  and  Growth  of  Mind. 
MEUMANN,    E.      Intelligenz    und    Wills.     Experimental 

Pddagogik. 

OGDEN.  R.  M.     Introduction  to  General  Psychology. 
RUSK,  R.  R.     Experimental  Education. 
SHAND,  A.  F.     Foundations  oj  Character. 
STOUT,  G.  F.     Manual  oj  Psychology. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          69 


SECTION   XVII 
ASSOCIATION 

THE  term  "  Association "  has  a  history  almost 
as  baffling  as  that  of  the  word  "  Idea."  In 
general,  it  describes  the  elementary  and  common 
fact  of  recall.  When  I  look  at  the  photograph  of 
a  house  where  I  spent  a  holiday,  I  recall  not  only 
the  actual  house,  but,  by  Association,  the  various 
incidents  and  experiences  of  my  stay.  Such  a  fact 
is  evidently  of  the  first  importance  for  the  under- 
standing of  our  mental  life.  It  has  a  direct  bearing 
on  the  process  of  memory  ;  it  furnishes  us  with 
material  for  our  reflective  and  higher  activities,  and 
partially  determines  their  direction.  Plato  (cf. 
Phaedo,  73  d.)  noted  this  fact  of  Association,  and 
used  it  in  support  of  his  general  theory  of  know- 
ledge. Since  that  time,  the  examination  of  it  has 
occupied  a  notable  place  in  the  history  of  psychology 
and  epistemology.  The  conception  of  Association 
is  peculiarly  the  special  contribution  of  English 
thinkers  to  philosophical  discussion.  It  is  the 
dominating  principle  of  the  English  empiricists  from 
Hobbes  to  Mill,  and  most  of  them  found  in  it  the 
ultimate  explanation  of  knowledge.  For  Hume, 
for  example,  the  only  discoverable  unity  of  know- 
ledge was  that  of  the  association  of  one  impression 
or  idea  with  another,  because  of  their  occurrence 
together.  The  final  issue  of  Hume's  doctrine  in 
scepticism  revealed  the  inadequacy  of  Association 
to  serve  as  the  basis  of  knowledge,  and  roused  Kant 
to  prove  that  Association  itself  implied  some  more 
ultimate  or  "  transcendental  "  principle. 

The  failure  of  Association  as  an  epistemological 
principle  does  not  affect  its  value  for  psychology, 
although  its  use  within  this  more  limited  province 
has  often  been  marked  by  error.  We  cannot,  for 
example,  assume  that  we  explain  any  sequence  of 
mental  events  merely  by  calling  it  a  case  of 
association  of  ideas.  That  would  be  to  convert 


70          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

what  is  simply  a  description  of  the  fact  to  be 
explained  into  an  explanation  of  the  fact.  The 
problem  is  rather  to  discover  the  conditions  under 
which  associative  connections  are  formed  and  how 
their  direction  is  determined.  But  it  is  convenient, 
first,  to  describe  in  general  the  function  of 
Association  in  the  constitution  of  knowledge. 

Association,  in  its  widest  sense,  enters  into  both 
perception  and  thought  (i.e.  not  only  are  ideas 
associated  with  one  another,  but  Association  is 
essential  to  the  perception  of  external  objects. 
Berkeley's  proof  of  this  is,  in  its  main  outlines, 
sufficient.  In  the  New  Theory  of  Vision,  he  shows 
that  certain  qualities  which  we  "  see  "  in  objects  are 
really  not  seen,  but  inferred,  that  is,  "  suggested  " 
by  our  visual  experiences  in  virtue  of  past  associa- 
tions. Similarly,  tactual  sensations  are  completed 
by  the  recall  of  visual  and  motor  sensations.  This 
inter-relation  of  our  sense  experiences  is  a  first 
condition  of  the  development  of  a  perception  of 
objects  (cf.  e.g.  the  account  of  the  perception  of 
space  in  STOUT'S  Manual  of  Psychology,  pp.  464-519). 
Even  more  conspicuously,  at  the  level  of  con- 
ceptual or  ideational  process,  Association  is 
operative.  The  construction  of  chains  of  ideas, 
whence  springs  all  progress  in  theoretical  know- 
ledge, plainly  requires  the  possibility  of  recall. 
Memory  largely  depends  upon  this  power  of 
Association. 

The  investigation  of  the  conditions  on  which 
Association  depends  raises  two  distinct  sets  of 
problems — physiological  and  psychological.  As  to 
the  physiological  conditions,  our  knowledge,  though 
vague,  is  sufficient  to  lay  down  one  general  prin- 
ciple— that  when  two  cortical  cells  have  been 
excited,  simultaneously  or  successively,  a  sub- 
sequent excitation  of  the  one  tends  to  spread  to 
the  other.  Psychologically,  we  may  distinguish 
at  last  four  important  conditions — 

1.  Percepts  and  ideas  tend  to  recall  one  another 
according  to  their  proximity  in  time.  This  is  styled 
Association  by  Contiguity,  and  some  psychologists 
regard  it  as  fundamental.  For  example,  the  words 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          71 

"  men  may  come  "  irresistibly  complete  themselves 
with  "  and  men  may  go  "  ;  while  if  we  hear  the 
latter  phrase  first,  we  tend,  though  less  strongly, 
to  preface  it  with  the  former.  Association,  however, 
is  selective,  and  we  recall  the  most  significant 
elements  in  a  series. 

2.  The  order  in  which  our  presentations  come 
affects  the  manner  of  their  recall,  as  the  foregoing 
example  shows  ;    while  we  know  that  it  is  more 
difficult,    without    much   practice,    to    repeat    the 
alphabet  backwards  than  forwards. 

3.  The  recency  of  our  presentations  is  obviously 
important.    The  more  distant  they  are,  the  harder 
and  less  certain  is  the  process  of  recovery. 

4.  The  effect  of  repetition  is  specially  noteworthy, 
from  its  practical  importance  in   memory-training. 
Ebbinghaus   proved   that   the   power   of  recall   of 
a  series  of  nonsense-syllables  was  more  accurately 
and  easily  acquired  if  they  were  repeated  a  few 
times  on  each  of  several  days,  than  if  repeated 
many  times   all   at  once.     The  more  the  repeti- 
tions   were    divided,    the    more    economical    the 
process. 

These  four  are  the  main  objective  conditions  of 
Association,  and  all  are  always  operative  in  some 
degree.  More  fundamental,  however,  is  the  direc- 
tion of  the  subjective  interest  at  the  moment  of 
recall.  This  primarily  determines  what  shall  be 
recalled  and  how.  I  try  to  recall  the  events  of 
yesterday  in  order  to  decide  what  I  was  doing  at  a 
certain  hour,  and  note  that  I  was  reading 
psychology.  I  remember  nothing,  however,  of  the 
details  of  the  argument  which  I  then  followed. 
But  if  my  purpose  in  recalling  yesterday's  events 
is  to  help  the  composition  of  this  article,  then  it 
is  those  details  that  I  recall  most  precisely.  It  is 
this  condition,  also,  which  most  determines  which 
of  two  competing  lines  of  association  I  shall  ulti- 
mately follow.  Indeed,  it  is  impossible  to  insist 
too  strongly  upon  this  condition ;  and  most 
"  associationist  "  controversies  have  sprung  from 
its  neglect.  "  Association  marries  only  universals"  ; 
I  recall  those  ideas  and  events  that  fit  in  with  my 


72          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

purpose  at  the  time  of  reinstatement.  Hence, 
Association  is  ultimately  governed  by  the  principle 
governing  all  mental  activity,  viz.,  a  mental  state 
tends  to  work  out  its  own  fulfilment  and  comple- 
tion. It  is,  in  this  sense,  teleological. 

The  literature  on  Association  is  immense,  as 
every  psychological  text-book  and  review  devotes 
much  space  to  it.  There  are  the  various  works  of 
Professors  Stout,  William  James,  Hoffding,  Bain, 
and  Pillsbury,  and  Dr.  Ward's  article  in  the 
Encyclopaedia  Britannica  ;  while  Professors  Myers 
and  Titchener  give  illustrative  experiments.  F.  H. 
Bradley's  Principles  of  Logic  gives  the  logical 
implications. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          73 


SECTION   XVIII 
THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  ASSOCIATION 

WHEN  two  things  are  attended  to  together  or  in 
close  succession,  the  recurrence  to  mind  of  the  one, 
whether  by  renewed  perception  or  by  "  thinking 
of  it  "  again,  tends  to  bring  up  the  thought  of  the 
other.  This  fact  is  at  the  basis  of  all  "  learning  by 
heart."  The  learner  repeats  words  in  a  given  order 
and,  if  later  he  starts  with  some  of  them,  he  is 
likely  to  be  able  to  reproduce  the  others  unaided. 
In  such  instances,  it  is  not  merely  a  case  of  one 
thing  recalling  one  other,  but  of  many  things 
conspiring  to  the  recall  of  many  others. 

All  such  connections  are  usually  referred  to 
under  the  name  of  association.  The  expression 
association  of  ideas  is  sometimes  similarly  employed, 
though  it  is  somewhat  misleading.  For  many  things 
not  usually  called  ideas  are  connected  in  the  way 
described.  All  habits,  for  instance,  are  cases  of 
association.  Thus  a  sound  may  be  associated  with 
an  action  (e.g.  the  soldier's  movement  at  the  word 
"Attention!").  Association  not  only  occurs 
between  ideas,  but  these  ideas  themselves  are  often 
the  products  of  association.  Thus  the  child's  idea 
of  a  cat  which  becomes  associated  with  the  word  cat 
is  itself  a  whole  compounded  out  of  many  simpler 
experiences.  The  child  has  seen  and  stroked  the 
cat,  thus  obtaining  definite  sensations  of  sight  and 
touch,  and  others  more  indefinite  connected  with 
his  own  movements  in  dealing  with  the  animal 
(i.e.  kinaesthetic  sensations).  He  has  heard  it  mew, 
and  possibly  felt  its  scratches.  All  these  associated 
experiences  form  an  aggregation  now  called  the 
idea  of  the  cat;  and  the  recurrence  of  one  of  them 
will  immediately  revive  traces  of  the  others.  The 
associations  may  be  so  strong  that  it  is  scarcely 
correct  to  speak  of  one  element  recalling  another; 
there  has  been  such  a  close  fusion  as  to  deserve  a 
distinct  name,  so  Professor  Stout  has  suggested  the 


74  PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

term  complication.  The  fixing  of  associations  is  the 
basis  of  all  memory  (i.e.  the  power  to  recall  strings 
of  ideas  and  to  consolidate  many  of  the  ideas 
themselves). 

Physical  Aspects  of  Association.    It  seems  to  be 
generally  agreed  that  the  neurones  or  nerve  cells 


NERVE    CELL    FROM    THE    CORTEX   OF   THE 
CEREBELLUM,  WITH  RICHLY-BRANCHING  DEND  RITES 
(After  Kollicker.) 

involved  in  each  of  the  mental  processes  which 
become  connected  (every  mental  process  involving 
a  corresponding  neural  excitation  in  the  brain)  are 
brought  into  closer  relations  probably  by  the  fine 
fibres  springing  from  each  nerve  cell.  These  fibres, 
or  dendrites,  give  off  still  finer  branches  or  arboriza- 
tions. And  the  arborizations  of  one  neurone  inter- 
mingle with  those  of  others,  such  interminglings 
being  usually  called  synapses.  It  is  believed  that 
nervous  impulses  or  excitations  are  in  some  way 
transmitted  from  one  neurone  to  another  across 
the  synapses,  though  the  latter  are  not  always 
ready-made  connections.  There  seems,  on  the 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          75 

contrary,  to  be  an  increased  resistance  to  the  passage 
of  impulses  at  many  of  these  places.  But,  when 
once  an  impulse  succeeds  in  passing  across,  it 
breaks  down  some  of  this  resistance  more  or  less 
permanently;  so  that  the  next  time  one  of  the 
neurones  in'  question  is  in  a  state  of  excitation,  the 
impulse  will  spread  more  readily. 

No  universally  accepted  answer  has  been  given 
as  to  how  the  first  passage  of  energy  is  secured. 
McDougall  and  others  have  adopted  what  they  call 
the  Drainage  Theory.  They  suppose  that  when  a 
given  neurone  is  in  excitation,  it  tends  to  attract 
or  drain  energy  from  any  others  at  all  excited,  thus 
increasing  and  continuing  its  activity.  Now,  this 
is  the  case  when  the  neurones  involved  in  one 
mental  process  (e.g.  the  perception  of  B)  are  excited 
immediately  after  those  involved  in  another  (e.g. 
the  perception  of  A).  For  the  excitations  involved 
in  the  last- mentioned  state  have  not  completely 
subsided  when  the  supervening  excitations  are 
aroused.  Nervous  energy  is  thus  drawn  through 
certain  synapses,  leaving  a  path  more  open  than 
before.  The  openness  of  the  path  (i.e.  the  strength 
of  the  association)  will  depend  on  the  amount  of 
energy  involved.  If  I  am  very  strongly  impressed 
by  two  things  attended  to  in  close  connection,  a 
single  experience  will  suffice  to  form  a  permanent 
association.  This  is  the  case  when  great  interest  is 
aroused  (e.g.  the  boy  keen  on  county  cricket  can 
give  the  scores  of  the  prominent  players  in  a  par- 
ticular match  after  once  reading  them).  Obviously, 
then,  the  more  teachers  can  arouse  their  pupils' 
interest,  the  more  ready  will  be  the  memorizing. 
Intense  interest  cannot  always  be  aroused  where 
strong  associations  are  necessary  (e.g.  in  the  case 
of  the  multiplication  table).  Repetition  may  be 
necessary  for  the  formation  of  such  associations. 

The  foregoing  process  of  association  is  sometimes 
called  association  by  contiguity.  Some  psychologists 
distinguish  contiguity  in  place  from  that  in  time  ; 
but,  from  the  purely  psychological  standpoint,  the 
former  merely  enables  the  two  things  in  question 
to  be  perceived  in  close  temporal  connection. 


76  PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

Association  by  Similarity.  The  earlier  psycholo- 
gists made  much  of  what  they  termed  association 
by  similarity.  My  grandfather's  name  recalls  him 
to  mind  because  the  two  have  been  previously 
associated  by  contiguity.  But  an  old  man  now  seen 
for  the  first  time  twenty  years  after  my  grand- 
father's death  may  also  recall  the  latter.  Similarity, 
we  are  told,  is  the  bond  in  this  case.  If  my  grand- 
father has  been  dead  twenty  years,  and  I  now  see 
another  old  man  for  the  first  time,  I  can  never  have 
associated  the  two  by  virtue  of  contiguity.  But  let 
us  examine  the  matter  more  closely.  The  eyes,  the 
nose,  the  long,  white  beard  of  the  old  man  now  seen 
are  practically  the  same  as  my  grandfather's,  and, 
being  now  re-presented,  recall  the  rest  of  the  whole 
which  constitutes  my  grandfather.  The  association 
on  which  the  recall  depends  is  not,  in  this  case,  an 
association  between  the  two  separate  individuals, 
but  the  connection  which  was  inevitably  formed 
among  the  various  elements  which  constituted  for 
me  my  grandfather.  In  the  present  old  man,  some 
of  these  elements  now  occur  again,  and  these  recall 
the  others  which  were  associated  with  them — by 
virtue  of  contiguity — twenty  years  ago.  This  close 
connection,  which  is  formed  among  the  various 
elements  or  aspects  of  one  thing  (as  distinguished 
from  the  association  between  one  whole  and  an- 
other separate  whole),  has  been  called,  by  Stout, 
complication  (see  above). 

Not  only  do  the  cases  usually  cited  as  instances 
of  "  association  by  similarity  "  rest  also  upon  con- 
tiguity, but  the  very  thing  (similarity)  which  is 
supposed  to  distinguish  them  from  the  cases,  usually 
quoted  as  instances  of  association  by  contiguity,  is 
also  a  feature — and,  indeed,  still  more  completely 
so — of  the  latter.  As  Lloyd  Morgan  says:  "  I  think 
it  may  be  said  that  all  association  is  by  contiguity, 
and  that  all  suggestion  is  by  similars,  for  we  never 
have  the  same  presentation  twice,  though  it  may 
on  the  second  occasion  be  another  presentation 
from  what  we  call  the  same  source  "  (Psychology 
for  Teachers,  p.  80). 

Association  by  Contrast.    Several  other  so-called 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          77 

forms  of  association  have  been  mentioned  by  the 
older  psychologists.  Black  suggests  white ;  good, 
bad ;  empty,  full ;  etc.  It  has  been  asserted  that 
such  instances  are  cases  of  association  by  contrast, 
whereas  the  bond  is  still  contiguity.  We  can  dis- 
tinguish and  thus  abstract  qualities  by  comparison 
of  things  possessing  one  quality  in  greater  or  less 
contrast  with  another.  Now,  the  most  striking 
contrasts  occur  when  directly  opposite  qualities 
are  in  close  proximity  (e.g.  black  stands  out  most 
clearly,  and  is  hence  most  readily  abstracted  when 
contiguous  to  white).  So  with  good  and  bad,  etc. 
Since  these  qualities  are  most  clearly  distinguished 
when  thus  occurring,  strong  associations  are  formed 
by  reason  of  this  frequent  contiguity. 


78          PSYCHOLOGY    IN    EDUCATION 

SECTION  XIX 
SELF  AND  SELF-CONSCIOUSNESS 

THE  reality  of  self  is  the  ultimate  datum  of  conscious- 
ness— the  primary  intuition.  We  cannot  get  beyond 
it,  for  it  is  necessarily  involved  even  in  the  attempt 
to  do  so.  The  ultimate  questions  we  can  ask  about 
the  self  do  not  concern  its  reality,  but  its  nature  and 
its  development.  Knowledge  of  this  is  of  the  greatest 
importance  to  all  who  are  engaged  in  training  the 
young,  for  understanding  of  the  self  is  the  only  clue 
to  the  understanding  of  others.  But  it  is  not 
intuitive:  it  is  attained  only  as  the  result  of  careful 
study. 

The  traditional  psychology  attempted  to  explain 
the  individual  self  in  isolation,  and  regarded  the 
community  as  an  aggregate  of  self -sufficient  units. 
Modern  thought  attacks  the  problem  from  the  other 
side.  It  sees  in  each  individual  essentially  a  con- 
stituent of  a  society,  with  the  rest  of  which  his  rela- 
tions are  organic.  Into  a  certain  community  a  child 
is  born,  and  in  it  he  grows  up.  This  community  is 
a  psychical  life,  having  its  purposes,  its  views  of 
good  and  bad,  wrong  and  right,  its  estimates  of  the 
relative  values  of  experiences  and  aims,  its  know- 
ledge of  the  world  of  men  and  of  things.  Into  its 
feelings  the  child  enters  by  innate  sympathy;  into 
its  estimates  of  value  he  is  led  by  example,  by  pre- 
cept, and  by  authority;  into  its  ways  of  acting  and 
thinking  by  unconscious  assimilation  and  by  con- 
scious imitation.  Thus  the  whole  texture  of  his 
psychical  life  is  a  concentration  and  reflexion  of  the 
life  of  the  community  of  which  he  is  as  truly  a  con- 
stituent part  as  a  cell  is  of  an  organic  physical  body. 
At  the  same  time,  he  has  from  the  beginning  a 
certain  definite  characteristic  trend  due  to  his 
heritage  from  his  forefathers,  and  the  study  of 
heredity  and  variation  increasingly  emphasizes  the 
importance  of  this  inheritance.  This  accounts  for 
the  fact  that,  in  similar  social  surroundings, markedly 
different  individualities  are  developed.  Yet,  however 
great  may  be  these  divergences,  each  is  seen 


PSYCHOLOGY    IN    EDUCATION          79 

as  a  variation  from  the  type  established  in  the  par- 
ticular community  in  which  they  develop.  Each 
individual  represents  the  common  life  in  his  own 
way,  and  each,  therefore,  is  fitted  to  contribute  his 
appropriate  share  to  the  common  good. 

The  coming  to  consciousness  of  the  self  as  an 
individual  is  a  progressive  development  of  clearness 
and  definiteness  of  purpose.  The  self,  determining 
its  own  ends,  stands  out  with  increasing  explicitness 
from  the  material  and  human  surroundings  in  which 
it  works.  Its  relations  to  them  are  more  exactly 
seen  as  experience  brings  home  the  consequences 
of  acting  thus  and  thus.  As  the  results  of  actions 
are  foreseen,  what  is  capable  of  achievement 
becomes  more  definitely  marked  off  from  what  can 
merely  be  pictured  in  imagination,  and  so  the  means 
to  attain  purposes  are  more  surely  planned.  Through- 
out there  is  growth  of  intelligence,  but  only  as  one 
aspect  of  a  life  of  directed  purpose,  which  is  at  the 
same  time  an  active  striving,  finding  satisfaction  or 
dissatisfaction  in  the  course  of  its  activity.  Intel- 
ligence apprehends  what  is  in  accord  with  the  com- 
mon sentiment,  and  consequently  sees  where  to 
expect  to  profit  by  public  assistance  or  to  enjoy 
public  approbation;  and  where,  on  the  contrary, 
public  opposition,  active  or  passive,  may  be  anti- 
cipated. The  individual,  because  he  is  an  indi- 
vidual, may  adopt  aims  not  accepted  as  good  by 
the  community;  on  the  other  hand,  because  his 
nature  is  social,  his  aims  are  always  related  to  those 
which  win  public  acquiescence. 

Characteristics  of  the  Self.  At  first,  apprehension 
of  the  self  is  very  closely  involved  with  that  of  the 
body,  for  the  beginnings  of  life  are  predominantly 
physical;  intelligence  and  emotion  can  only  take 
form  as  life  itself  calls  them  forth.  And  always  in 
ordinary  thought  and  speech  the  self  is  at  once 
body  and  spirit.  The  distinction  between  these  is 
the  result  of  analytic  thought  directed  on  experi- 
ence. This  makes  clear  to  us  that  we,  as  active 
agents,  can  be  set  apart  in  thought  from  the  circum- 
stances in  which  we  act,  though  the  separation  not 
only  cannot  be  made  in  fact,  but  cannot  even  be 


80          PSYCHOLOGY    IN    EDUCATION 

thought  as  so  made.  In  thinking  thus,  we  assume 
that  the  sell  we  so  envisage  is  a  continuing  reality. 
Bare  perception  of  the  present  cannot  give  us  this, 
and  cannot  by  itself  justify  the  certitude  that  the 
self  of  the  present  moment  is  the  self  of  even  an 
hour  ago.  As  the  reality  of  the  self  is  an  ultimate 
intuition,  so  is  its  permanence.  Experience  soon 
shows  us  that  it  is  not  an  unchanging  identity;  in  all 
apparent  characteristics  we  are  very  different  in 
adult  life  from  what  we  were  in  infancy.  Nor  can 
we  appeal  to  explicit  memory  of  the  past,  even  if 
to  do  so  did  not  involve  this  very  intuition;  for 
definite  memory  will  carry  none  of  us  back  to  the 
beginning  of  life.  The  self,  then,  is  characterized 
by  both  permanence  and  change.  The  past  lives 
on  in  the  present  and  gives  it  its  effective  force  to 
work  out  the  future,  which  we  see  in  idea,  itself 
resting  on  experience.  It  is  because  the  past  is  thus 
taken  up  into  the  present  that  the  self  we  find  by 
introspection  is  a  permanent  self. 

It  is  also  a  unity,  despite  the  multiplicity  of  its 
experiences.  For  at  each  moment  it  is  making  for 
the  attainment  of  some  one  end;  and,  as  evaluation 
of  experience  becomes  more  exact,  the  ends  sought 
are  progressively  systematized.  The  unity  of  the 
self,  therefore,  is  a  dynamic  unity,  which  takes  up 
into  itself  all  its  experiences,  so  that  they  become 
one  with  it.  Especially  important  is  this  in  so  far 
as  those  experiences  relate  the  self  to  other  selves. 
Neither  can  be  known  apart  from  the  other,  because 
neither  is  real  apart  from  the  other. 

When  we  examine  the  self,  we,  as  it  were,  con- 
struct from  the  real  concrete  self  of  life  a  repre- 
sentative and  partially  abstract  self,  and  so  make 
evident  its  general  character  and  tendency.  This 
concept  of  the  self  we  can  use  for  our  practical 
guidance.  J.  WELTON. 

References— 

BOSANQUET,  B.     Psychology  of  the  Moral  Self. 
JAMES,  W.     Principles  of  Psychology  (2  vols.),  Chap.  X. 
MAHER,  M.     Psychology,  Book  II. 

STOUT,  G.  F.     Manual  of  Psychology  (2  vols.),  Pt.  IV, 
Chap.  VII  . 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          81 


SECTION   XX 
INDIVIDUALITY 

THE  term  "  individuality "  implies  a  variation 
from  the  average  or  normal  type,  and  is  often  used 
to  designate  the  sum  of  the  qualities  which  mark 
off  one  person  as  different  from  another.  A  better 
usage  is  to  adopt  the  term  "  individual  differences  " 
or  "  variations  "  for  these  qualities,  either  separately 
or  in  the  mere  aggregate,  and  to  reserve  the  term 
"  individuality "  for  the  organized  personality 
which  is  reached  by  a  process  of  development,  in  so 
far  as  the  given  person  owns  systematic  tendencies 
to  react  to  his  environment  in  ways  different  from 
other  persons.  Individuality  is,  then,  the  capacity 
to  make  a  specific  contribution  in  a  given  situation. 
In  general,  this  term  implies  approval:  there  is  a 
marked  tendency  to  use  it  only  of  desirable  or 
laudable  qualities;  we  speak  of  the  originality  of 
a  burglar  or  murderer  rather  than  of  his  indi- 
viduality. The  undesirable  extreme  of  individuality 
is  eccentricity. 

Individual  Variations.  Differences  between  indi- 
viduals may  be  common  to  classes  of  individuals. 
The  characteristics,  for  example,  which  mark  off  a 
saint  from  a  sinner  may  be  common  to  all  saints; 
so  the  psychologist  investigates  the  mental  outfit 
of  a  criminal  or  a  philanthropist,  an  imbecile  or  a 
genius.  But,  as  Miinsterberg  remarks,  there  are 
individual  differences  in  a  narrower  sense;  that  is, 
"  the  differences  in  which  we  cannot  recognize  the 
traits  of  a  large  group  such  as  sex  or  race,  but  in 
which  the  individual  really  differs  from  his  neigh- 
bour "  (General  and  Applied  Psychology,  p.  228). 
Such  differences  are  those  of  character,  intelligence, 
etc.  Again,  individual  differences  may  be  either 
qualitative  (e.g.  differences  in  types  of  mental 
imagery)  or  quantitative  (as  differences  in  sensory 

7— (1128) 


82          PSYCHOLOGY   IN    EDUCATION 

acuity  or  in  capacity  for  sustained  attention). 
Various  classifications  may  be  useful  in  different 
cases.  Perhaps  the  classification  most  generally 
useful  for  educational  theory  is  to  group  the  differ- 
ences as  they  belong  to  the  affective,  conative,  or 
cognitive  processes  respectively.  Of  these,  it  is 
mainly  the  last,  namely,  differences  in  cognitive 
process,  that  have  been  exactly  investigated. 
Sensory  acuity,  memory,  general  intelligence,  etc., 
may  be  tested  in  a  considerable  variety  of  ways; 
but  there  is  room  for  difference  of  opinion  as  to 
the  degree  in  which  education  is  thereby  aided. 
From  individual  variations  there  arise  two  problems 
for  the  educator.  The  first  is  the  question  of  sub- 
jects of  instruction,  the  second  is  the  question  of 
methods.  As  to  the  first,  it  is  evident  that  there 
are  some  subjects  which  everybody  must  learn, 
whether  with  or  without  an  aptitude  for  them. 
The  heaven-born  genius,  musician  or  poet,  cannot 
be  excused  his  multiplication  table.  Of  course,  the 
more  scope  for  the  individual  bent,  beyond  this 
necessary  limitation,  the  better;  and  the  fact  that 
aptitudes  themselves  are  often  owned  by  groups 
helps  the  practical  problem.  As  to  the  second, 
individual  differences  do  not,  in  practice,  interfere 
to  any  considerable  extent  with  class  teaching, 
provided  always  the  class  be  not  too  large  and, 
above  all,  the  teaching  skilled  and  sympathetic. 

Individuality  Proper.  Individual  differences,  as 
we  have  seen,  are  not  yet  individuality  in  its 
highest  sense.  Rather,  they  are  part  of  the  raw 
material  on  which  the  educator  has  to  work.  His 
problem  is  so  to  train  a  human  being  that  peculiar 
endowments  shall  not  be  lost  in  the  process,  but  be 
fostered  and  developed  into  a  system  of  capacities 
and  tendencies  which,  as  a  whole,  possesses  a 
specific  nature  of  its  own.  So  individuality, 
thus  understood,  is  a  goal  and  an  ideal,  not  a 
starting-point. 

Individuality,  then,  implies  spontaneity,  energy, 
and  originality  in  thought  and  in  action,  and  on  it 
depends  the  onward  drive  of  whatever  progress 
there  is.  It  may  be  said  to  be  a  mean  between 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          83 

mere  passive  obedience  to  custom  and  the  estab- 
lished order  on  the  one  hand,  and  eccentricity  and 
the  innovations  of  the  pure  crank  on  the  other. 
There  is,  of  course,  no  merit  in  mere  diversity. 
The  value  of  individuality  lies  in  the  fact  that  no 
human  being  touches  experience  at  all  points,  and 
so  special  capacities  and  points  of  view  are  an 
enrichment  of  humanity. 

Mill  (Essay  on  Liberty,  Chap.  Ill)  drew  a  some- 
what gloomy  picture  of  the  attitude  towards  indi- 
viduality in  his  own  times:  "  Individual  spontaneity 
is  hardly  recognized  by  the  common  modes  of 
thinking  as  having  any  intrinsic  worth.  .  .  .  We 
should  think  we  had  done  wonders  if  we  had  made 
ourselves  all  alike/'  Nowadays  there  is  little  danger 
of  forgetting  its  claims;  perhaps  there  is  more  danger 
of  its  becoming  a  catch-word,  ill-understood  and 
carelessly  applied.  With  every  desire  to  give 
spontaneity,  energy,  and  genius  the  fullest  scope, 
it  must  be  remembered  that  there  are  such  things 
as  concerted  actions,  in  which  spontaneity  has  no 
place,  and  that  individuality  does  not  mean  doing 
things  differently  from  other  people  when  other 
people  do  them  in  the  best  possible  way. 

There  is  a  good  deal  said  as  to  the  danger  of 
destroying  individuality,  and,  in  particular,  its 
aspect  of  initiative,  by  systems  like  military  training. 
The  Prussian  military  system,  for  instance,  was  said 
to  destroy  initiative  and  individuality.  Such  a 
result  is  no  doubt  possible,  but  that  it  is  not 
inevitable  may  be  proved  by  a  glance  at  the  British 
Navy.  And  in  some  of  the  instances  alleged  it 
would  be  relevant  to  know  how  much  individuality 
there  was  to  destroy. 

What,  if  anything,  can  be  done  to  evoke  and 
develop  individuality  ?  The  question  is  a  hard  one, 
for  it  may  be  easier  to  hinder  than  to  help.  Positive 
instruction  seems  almost  excluded  by  the  nature 
of  the  case,  but  much  is  still  possible — sympathetic 
encouragement  and  the  provision  of  a  free  field  of 
varied  opportunities.  And  this  should  begin  in  the 
early  years  of  life,  for  individuality  is  not  a  flower 
that  can  grow  and  blossom  in  a  day.  A  marked 


84          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

individuality  will  out,  not  only  without  fostering 
care,  but  even  in  the  face  of  direct  opposition  and 
hindrance.  Yet  it  is  a  real  loss  to  the  world  if  the 
feebler  forms  be  crushed  or  starved  out.  Hence  the 
supreme  importance  of  determining  what  is  the 
special  aptitude  of  each  individual  child. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          85 

SECTION   XXI 

THE  EDUCATIONAL  ASPECTS  OF 
SUB-CONSCIOUSNESS 

LOGICALLY  there  is  room  for  the  existence  of  only 
two  states,  Consciousness  and  Unconsciousness ; 
for  at  any  given  moment  we  are  either  conscious 
or  we  are  not.  Psychologists  recognize  this  when 
they  speak  of  the  threshold  of  consciousness. 
Once  an  idea  falls  below  this  threshold  it  is  un- 
questionably in  the  realm  of  the  unconscious. 
But  practical  considerations  interfere  with  the 
smooth-running  distinctions  of  logic.  All  the 
elements  that  are  said  to  be  below  the  threshold 
are  not  in  the  same  state.  Some  appear  to  be 
perfectly  passive,  others  uneasily  dormant,  and  still 
others  are  in  a  condition  of  what  may  be  called 
sub-activity.  The  state  of  affairs  below  the 
threshold  is  not  unlike  the  state  of  affairs  above. 
In  both  cases  the  elements  that  make  up  the 
content  may  be  arranged  according  to  their  power 
of  influencing  the  mental  process  at  any  given 
moment.  The  continuity  between  the  upper  and 
the  lower  realm  is  recognized  by  the  term  that  is 
often  applied  to  what  lies  below  the  threshold. 
When  we  speak  of  "  the  subliminal  consciousness  " 
we  implicitly  grant  that  there  is  a  "  sort  of " 
consciousness  that  is  not  quite  what  we  usually 
understand  by  that  term.  This  view  obviously 
reduces  the  importance  of  the  threshold,  if  indeed 
it  does  not  challenge  its  very  existence.  Yet  the 
plain  man  readily  admits  that  there  is  a  difference 
between  what  is  above  the  threshold  and  what  is 
not.  His  trouble  is  to  distinguish  between  the 
two  grades — sub-consciousness  and  unconsciousness. 
The  Threshold  of  Consciousness.  Sometimes  the 
prefix  sub  appears  to  be  used  as  indicating  merely 
a  lower  degree  of  anything,  as  in  the  case  of 
sub-activity  as  used  in  the  above  paragraph.  In 
this  sense  the  sub-consciousness  should  not  be 
treated  as  below  the  threshold  at  all.  It  is  only 
a  weaker  form  of  consciousness.  But  for  many 


86          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

minds  the  prefix  sub,  as  applied  to  consciousness, 
is  connected  with  the  notion  of  the  threshold, 
and  for  them  the  sub-conscious  must  be  regarded 
as  below  the  threshold.  For  practical  purposes 
it  may  be  permitted  to  treat  the  conscious,  the 
sub-conscious  and  the  unconscious  as  making  up 
a  great  series  of  states  of  gradually  diminishing 
intensity  from  focal  consciousness  on  the  one  hand 
to  total  passivity  on  the  other,  the  whole  being 
divided  into  two  by  the  threshold,  which  is  assumed 
to  occur  just  above  the  sub-conscious.  At  any 
given  moment,  then,  the  subliminal  would  include 
all  the  elements  of  which  we  are  not  conscious, 
though  these  elements  may  be  roughly  classified  into 
a  group  having  some  activity  (the  sub-conscious), 
and  another  having  none. 

The  content  of  the  whole  series  from  focal 
consciousness  to  inert  unconsciousness  may  be 
compared  to  the  content  of  the  spectrum  as  it 
appeals  to  human  sensation.  According  to  the 
lengths  of  the  ether  waves,  different  colours  are 
presented  to  the  human  eye.  A  certain  wave 
length  gives  the  sensation  of  red ;  with  diminishing 
wave  lengths,  the  various  colours  of  the  spectrum 
are  presented  till  after  the  violet  band  has  been 
passed  the  wave  lengths  are  too  small  to  make  a 
colour  impression  on  the  human  sense.  But  both 
above  the  violet  and  below  the  red  there  are  wave 
lengths,  though  they  do  not  produce  colours  to 
the  human  eye.  In  the  same  way  below  the  thres- 
hold of  consciousness  there  are  activities,  though 
they  cannot  lead  to  that  state  that  we  all  recognize 
as  consciousness. 

Some  regard  consciousness  as  a  mere  epipheno- 
menon,  as  something  that  accompanies  certain 
physiological  processes,  but  has  no  significant 
causal  relation  with  them.  However  this  may  be, 
it  is  generally  admitted  that  some  physiological 
process  accompanies  all  states  of  consciousness, 
and  there  is  no  reason  to  suppose  that  these  pro- 
cesses actually  cease  even  when  they  fall  below 
that  degree  of  intensity  that  is  necessary  before 
they  can  be  accompanied  by  consciousness.  When 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          87 

we  are  unconscious,  these  processes  of  diminished 
intensity  may  correspond  to  the  vibrations  of  the 
ether  whose  wave  lengths  are  too  long  to  produce 
the  sensation  of  red. 

Active  and  Passive  Elements  of  the  Subliminal. 
It  is  obviously  to  the  educator's  advantage  to 
recognize  the  distinction  between  the  active  and 
the  passive  elements  that  make  up  the  content  of 
the  subliminal.  At  any  given  moment  this  content 
may  be  divided  into  two  sections,  the  smaller  of 
which  will  include  all  the  elements  that  for  some 
reason  or  other  are  at  that  moment  exercising 
influence  on  the  content  of  consciousness,  while 
the  other  section  includes  all  the  remaining  elements, 
these  being  mere  potentialities.  The  first  section 
would  then  represent  the  sub-consciousness,  while 
all  the  other  elements  would  belong  for  the  moment 
to  the  unconsciousness.  On  this  view  all  the  ideas 
that  are  either  on  their  way  into  consciousness  or 
have  just  passed  out  of  consciousness  will  form 
the  most  prominent  elements  of  the  sub-conscious 
segment,  while  ideas  that  are  more  or  less  closely 
connected  with  these  will  have  a  greater  or  less 
degree  of  influence  on  whatever  ideas  are  at  that 
moment  in  consciousness.  Whatever  has  once 
formed  part  of  the  mental  content,  and  has  been 
driven  below  the  threshold,  will  necessarily  form 
a  part  of  the  subliminal  content.  It  may  exercise 
practically  no  influence  at  any  given  time  on  what 
is  above  the  threshold,  but  on  the  other  hand  it 
may  at  any  moment  be  roused  to  activity  if  there 
should  enter  the  consciousness  elements  in  some 
way  related  to  it.  The  process  of  education 
consists  largely  in  building  up  connections  among 
elements  that  it  is  of  importance  to  keep  co-ordin- 
ated with  one  another.  When  Herbart  sets  up 
the  ideal  of  education  as  the  cultivation  of  a  many- 
sided  interest,  he  is  really  pleading  for  such  a 
correlation  of  the  elements  of  experience  that  the 
content  of  the  subliminal  shall  be  sensitive  to  the 
appeal  of  certain  kinds  of  stimuli  that  may  originate 
within  the  realm  of  consciousness.  In  Herbartian 
terms,  it  is  the  teacher's  business  to  increase  the 


88          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

preservative  activity  of  certain  ideas,  so  that  it  is 
easy  to  cause  them  to  rise  above  the  threshold. 
Dropping  the  Herbartian  figure  of  speech,  that 
treats  the  ideas  as  almost  self-active  forces,  we 
may  express  the  facts  by  saying  that  what  the 
educator  has  to  do  is  to  increase  the  sensitiveness 
of  the  mind  to  certain  classes  of  stimuli,  whether 
these  come  directly  from  without,  or  from  the 
organization  of  the  processes  that  are  set  up  as 
the  result  of  the  interaction  between  the  mind 
and  the  outer  world.  The  teaching  of  a  particular 
subject  is  really  the  systematic  increase  of  the 
presentative  activity  of  certain  correlated  ideas. 
In  actual  classroom  work  the  teacher  is  often 
concerned  mainly  with  what  is  going  on  in  the 
sub-consciousness  of  his  pupils.  In  dealing  with 
a  certain  problem  the  pupil  has  often  an  uneasy 
sense  that  the  line  he  is  following  is  not  the  right 
one,  but  he  cannot  tell  exactly  why.  This  state 
of  mind  results  from  the  fact  that  within  the  realm 
of  the  sub-conscious  are  certain  elements  that  are 
antagonistic  to  the  conclusions  to  which  the  elements 
within  the  consciousness  would  lead.  These 
disturbing  elements  cannot  produce  their  definite 
effects  till  they  have  risen  above  the  threshold, 
but  even  while  subliminal  they  have  the  power  to 
exercise  at  least  a  warning  influence.  It  is  the 
teacher's  business,  wherever  possible,  to  stimulate 
the  vague  protests  from  the  sub-consciousness. 
By  more  or  less  direct  suggestions  he  may  arouse 
elements  that  exercise  a  calculable  influence  on 
what  is  going  on  in  the  consciousness. 

The  Part  Flayed  by  the  Subliminal  in  Education 
and  in  Life.  The  Freudian  school  lay  great  stress 
on  the  subliminal.  They  regard  it  as  making  up 
the  true  man.  Educationally  this  view  is  of  great 
importance,  though  it  is  only  an  exaggerated 
statement  of  a  point  of  view  that  is  not  specially 
Freudian.  For  the  teacher  the  important  problem 
is  the  building  up  of  the  subliminal.  The  value 
of  an  education  may  be  justly  tested  by  the  sort 
of  subliminal  content  it  produces.  The  great 
function  of  education  is  to  help  the  educand  to 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          89 

form  good  habits.  Sometimes  this  process  is, 
perhaps  a  little  crudely,  described  as  helping  the 
pupils  to  pass  on  the  direction  of  certain  activities 
from  the  upper  to  the  lower  brain.  This  is  the 
physiological  way  of  saying  that  habit  formation 
consists  in  the  elimination  of  consciousness  from 
the  performance  of  certain  acts — in  other  words, 
of  reducing  certain  activities  from  the  conscious 
sphere  to  the  subliminal.  Here  arises  for  the 
educator  a  practical  question  of  great  importance. 
Does  the  educational  process  always  work  the 
one  way,  or  can  it  be  reversed  ?  Must  the  educator 
always  begin  with  the  consciousness  of  his  pupils 
and  pass  on  to  the  unconscious,  or  is  it  possible 
for  certain  pieces  of  knowledge  or  skill  to  make 
their  beginnings  in  the  subliminal  and  pass  upwards 
into  consciousness  ?  There  appears  to  be  a 
growing  belief  that  this  upward  movement  is  not 
only  possible,  but  that  it  counts  for  a  great  deal 
in  our  psychological  development.  The  change 
from  Professor  James's  "  big,  blooming,  buzzing 
confusion  "  to  the  ordered  universe  of  the  adult 
is  not  accomplished  by  conscious  process.  We 
acquire  certain  knowledge  and  skill  and  then 
realize  that  we  possess  them.  To  help  in  this 
upward  development  the  educator  must  begin 
in  the  realm  of  the  sub-conscious  as  outlined 
above. 


90         PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

SECTION    XXII 
PSYCHOTHERAPY 

"  PSYCHOTHERAPY  "  means  treatment  by  certain 
mental  measures.  The  conditions  to  which  it  is 
applicable  are  numerous  and  exceedingly  common. 
Most  of  them  come  under  the  heading  of  neuroses, 
or  "  functional  "  nervous  troubles,  of  which  hysteria 
(including  most  morbid  fears)  is  a  characteristic 
example.  There  are  certainly  more  people  suffering 
from  some  form  of  neurosis  than  not,  for  only  the 
smaller  number  of  neurotic  cases  culminate  in  actual 
nervous  invalidism  or  "  breakdown."  The  dis- 
tinguishing mark  of  a  neurotic  tendency  is  dispro- 
portionate reaction  to  a  given  situation  or  event, 
undue  emotional  importance  being  attached  to  it. 
This  surplus  is  not  a  simple  exaggeration,  as  is 
usually  thought,  but  represents  a  displacement  of 
feeling  from  an  older,  associated  mental  situation 
on  to  the  current  one,  the  reaction  to  which  is  thus 
determined  by  more  factors  than  are  evident. 
The  therapeutic  problem  essentially  is  how  to  render 
such  reactions  (in  feeling  or  conduct,  or  both)  more 
proportionate  to  the  situaiton  that  has  elicited 
them.  The  emotional  disturbances  that  underlie 
neurotic  conditions  can  also  lead  to  bodily  affec- 
tions of  various  kinds,  such  as  digestive  and  bowel 
irregularities,  eye  strain  or  temporary  loss  of  vision, 
palpitation  and  pain  at  the  heart,  "  functional  " 
paralyses  of  the  limbs,  and  so  on;  these  are  equally 
amenable  to  psychotherapy. 

The  insanities,  even  those  having  no  discoverable 
physical  cause,  are  on  the  whole  strikingly  refractory 
to  psychotherapeutic  treatment.  It  is,  however, 
possible  to  influence  for  good  the  earlier  stages  of 
some  such  conditions. 

Chronic  alcoholism,  of  whatever  form,  and  addic- 
tion to  drug  habits  are  also  much  more  refractory 
to  psychotherapy  than  the  neuroses.  It  is  never- 
theless possible  to  effect  a  cure  if  mental  deteriora- 
tion has  not  proceeded  too  far.  Sexual  perversions 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION         91 

are  more  amenable,  the  most  stubborn  being 
inversion  (homosexuality) . 

A  further  irregular  group  of  cases  comes  under 
the  care  of  the  psychotherapist,  which  may  be 
termed  character  anomalies.  This  class  includes  such 
states  as  depression  and  lack  of  zest  in  life,  amount- 
ing to  active  unhappiness;  conjugal  estrangements 
and  incapacities;  various  mental  conflicts  and  diffi- 
culties; inability  to  get  on  smoothly  with  relatives 
or  colleagues,  to  face  adequately  the  tasks  of  life; 
and  so  on.  In  conjunction  with  this  class,  a  word 
may  be  said  about  the  important  field  that  child- 
hood offers  for  psychotherapy.  This  subject  may 
be  fairly  distinctly  divided  into  three.  In  the  first 
place,  the  early  recognition  of  neurotic  tendencies 
gives  the  opportunity  for  treating  them  at  what  is 
by  far  the  most  favourable  and  plastic  period  of 
life,  and  the  results  yielded  by  treatment  then  are 
both  more  satisfactory  in  quality  and  more  easily 
achieved.  Secondly,  some  of  the  methods  used  in 
psychotherapy  lend  themselves  also  to  use  in  deal- 
ing with  the  more  difficult  of  children,  in  connec- 
tion with  such  traits  as  stubbornness,  defiance, 
sulkiness,  bad  habits,  cruelty,  and  the  like.  Thirdly, 
and  most  important,  the  actual  knowledge  gained 
in  the  practice  of  psychotherapy  concerning  the 
genesis  of  later  neuroses  and  character  abnormal- 
ities dictates  certain  principles  in  the  training  of 
children,  which  are  commonly  neglected,  relatively 
simple  to  act  on,  and  of  the  greatest  consequence 
for  their  later  development. 

Psychotherapeutic  Procedure.  There  are  many 
sub-varieties  of  psychotherapeutic  procedures,  but 
they  all  fall  into  the  three  following  groups — 

The  simplest,  the  oldest,  and  the  most  generally 
practised  is  that  of  Suggestion,  including  hypnotism. 
Through  the  action  of  suggestion,  a  hyper-receptive 
state  of  mind  is  brought  about,  which  has  the 
double  result  of  causing  a  general  relaxation  of 
nervous  tension;  and  further  of  rendering  the 
patient  susceptible  to  beneficial  statements,  assur- 
ances, and  instructions  given  by  the  physician. 
It  is  now  known  that  the  action  of  suggestion 


92         PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

depends  on  the  patient's  emotional  absorption  in 
the  idea  of  a  person  whom  he  respects,  so  that 
the  relationship  is  a  peculiarly  personal  one, 
and  therefore  one  fraught  with  many  potential 
disadvantages. 

The  second  and  more  elaborate  procedure  may 
be  termed  Re-education.  In  this  the  therapeutic 
aim  is  to  appeal  to  the  patient's  reason,  in  the  hope 
that  fuller  information  concerning  the  symptoms 
will  lead  to  the  disappearance  of  them.  The  attempt 
is  thus  made  to  "  explain  away  "  the  symptoms, 
and  at  the  same  time  to  inculcate  healthier  trains 
of  thought,  broader  or  fresher  points  of  view,  and 
better  balanced  feelings.  The  results  of  this  method 
of  treatment  are  probably  better  than  those  of 
suggestion.  Its  weakness  is  that  too  often  the 
so-called  explanations  consist  of  rather  banal 
platitudes  and  so  do  not  carry  matters  much  further. 
The  reason  for  this  is  that  in  the  purely  re-educative 
procedure  there  is  no  satisfactory  method  for  dis- 
covering the  real  causes  and  meaning  of  the  neurotic 
disorders,  so  that  there  is  nothing  to  do  but  deal 
superficially  with  what  is  often  the  end-product  of 
a  complicated  chain  of  mental  processes.  In  these 
circumstances,  much  of  the  good  effected  by  the 
treatment  is  really  due  to  a  more  subtle  form  of 
suggestion  or  personal  influence. 

The  third  and  most  ambitious  procadure  is  that 
of  Psycho-analysis  (q.v.),  a  method  devised  by 
Freud,  of  which  a  changed  version  has  been  put 
forward  under  the  same  name  by  Jung,  and  sup- 
ported in  this  country  by  Eder  and  Constance  Long. 
It  differs  from  "  re-education  "  in  recognizing  that 
the  causes  of  a  neurosis  are  far  from  evident,  and 
only  to  be  discovered  and  dealt  with  by  a  patient 
and  unravelling  analysis.  The  practice  of  psycho- 
analysis is  intimately  bound  up  with  a  certain 
theory  of  the  neuroses,  gradually  elaborated  as  the 
result  of  analytic  experience,  according  to  which 
such  disorders  are  the  product  of  various  internal 
mental  conflicts.  The  conflicts  are  between  opposing 
tendencies,  one  set  of  which  is  incompatible  with 
the  ethical  or  aesthetic  standards  of  the  conscious 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          93 

mind,  and  so  are  "  repressed  "  or  kept  from  con- 
sciousness, the  individual  refusing  to  be  aware  of 
them.  The  symptoms  are  then  the  substitutes  for 
these  repressed  tendencies,  and  are  symbolical  pre- 
sentations of  the  conflicting  forces.  The  repressed 
tendencies  are  of  various  kinds,  but  the  kernel  of 
them  is  always  sexual.  The  aim  of  the  treatment  is 
to  destroy  the  function  of  the  neurotic  symptoms, 
rendering  it  superfluous  by  means  of  resolving  the 
conflicts;  this  is  done  by  breaking  down  the  inhibit- 
ing repressions  that  form  a  barrier  between  the  two 
sets  of  forces  and  thus  allowing  the  latter  to  melt 
together.  In  this  way  a  unity  is  established  between 
the  two  regions  of  the  mind — the  conscious  one  and 
the  repressed  "  unconscious  "  one.  The  devices 
used  to  penetrate  through  to  the  deeper  layers  of 
the  mind  are  principally  free  association  of  ideas 
and  dream  analysis  (q.v.).  The  technique  is  such 
that  all  the  morbid  material  in  the  mind  has  to  be 
dealt  with,  it  being  impossible  to  isolate  any 
symptom;  the  trouble  involved  in  this,  however, 
is  more  than  compensated  for  by  the  completeness 
and  permanence  of  the  results. 


94          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION   XXIII 
DREAM  ANALYSIS 

IN  dream  analysis  there  are  three  ways  of 
investigating  dreams:  they  are,  chronologically 
stated,  (1)  the  antique,  and  still  popular,  method 
of  arbitrarily  interpreting  them  according  to  intui- 
tion; (2)  the  method  of  experimental  pyschology, 
in  which  connections  are  established  between  them 
and  physical  or  mental  stimuli,  more  often  the 
former;  (3)  the  method  of  unravelling  them  by 
applying  the  technique  of  psycho-analysis,  invented 
by  Freud.  (See  PSYCHOTHERAPY.)  It  is  in  the  last 
sense  that  the  term  Dream  Analysis  is  here  used. 
The  conclusions  reached  by  the  use  of  the  second 
method  differ  from  the  beliefs  accompanying  the 
use  of  the  first  in  denying  that  dreams  have  any 
mental  meaning,  and  in  demonstrating  that  they 
are  the  products  of  preceding  causes.  The  conclu- 
sions reached  by  the  use  of  the  third  method,  while 
fully  agreeing  with  the  latter  point,  accord  a  certain 
validity  to  popular  belief  in  so  far  as  this  holds 
that  dreams  do  have  a  definite  mental  meaning, 
though  not,  of  course,  a  supernatural  or  prophetic 
one. 

The  chief  steps  in  the  technique  of  the  psycho- 
analysis of  dreams  are  as  follows:  The  dream  is 
divided  into  its  constituent  parts.  The  dreamer 
concentrates  his  attention  on  each  part  in  turn  and 
relates  all  the  thoughts  that  enter  his  mind  when 
so  engaged.  If  the  casual,  disconnected,  and  appar- 
ently irrelevant  aside  thoughts  are  followed  up,  it 
will  be  found  that  their  associations  regularly  lead 
to  personal  thoughts  of  considerable  significance. 
The  material  in  this  way  collected  contains  certain 
nodal  ideas  that  recur  again  and  again,  which  are 
plainly  related  to  the  dream  itself.  They  are  called 
the  latent  dream,  in  contradistinction  to  the  mani- 
fest dream,  or  the  unanalysed  content  of  the  dream 


PSYCHOLOGY  IN   EDUCATION  95 

as  remembered.  There  is  every  reason  to  think  that 
the  manifest  dream  has  proceeded  from  the  latent 
"  dream  thoughts/'  so  that  the  work  of  analysis 
is  the  counterpart  of  the  synthetic  process  of  dream- 
making.  In  other  words,  the  manifest  dream  is  the 
substitute  for  the  latent  dream.  The  questions  thus 
arise:  How  are  the  latent  dream-thoughts  converted 
into  the  manifest  dream,  and  what  function,  if  any, 
does  this  conversion  subserve  ? 

Dream  Mechanisms.  A  comparative  study  of  the 
two  sets  shows  that  the  translation  of  one  into  the 
other  proceeds  by  quite  definite  psychological  laws, 
which  can  be  formulated  under  the  heading  of  four 
distinct  mechanisms.  The  first  of  these  is  called 
Condensation,  by  which  term  is  indicated  the  fact 
that  every  element  of  the  manifest  dream  repre- 
sents several  "  dream-thoughts  "  from  the  latent 
content,  it  being  thus  "  over-determined."  For 
instance,  a  figure  in  a  dream  may  be  constituted 
by  the  fusion  of  traits  belonging  to  more  than  one 
person;  this  may  occur  either  by  the  fusion  of  some 
traits  belonging  to  one  person  with  others  belonging 
to  another,  or  by  making  prominent  the  traits 
common  to  the  two  and  neglecting  those  not  com- 
mon (the  latter  process  producing  a  result  analogous 
to  a  Galton  composite  photograph).  It  is  by  means 
of  this  mechanism  that  similarity,  agreement,  or 
identity  (real  or  wished  for)  between  two  elements 
in  the  latent  content  is  expressed  in  the  dream:  the 
two  simply  fuse  and  form  a  new  unity. 

The  second  distorting  mechanism  is  called  Dis- 
placement. In  most  dreams  it  is  found  after  analysis 
that  there  is  no  correspondence  between  the  psy- 
chical importance  of  a  given  element  in  the  manifest 
content  and  that  of  the  associated  ones  in  the  latent 
content.  The  most  prominent  emotion  in  the  dream 
often  accompanies  elements  that  represent  the 
least  important  of  the  "  dream-thoughts,"  and  con- 
versely. A  transposition  of  feeling  or  psychical 
intensity  has  taken  place  whereby  a  highly  signi- 
ficant idea  has  become  replaced  by  a  previously 
indifferent  and  unimportant  one  (often  a  casual  and 
hardly  noticed  impression  of  the  preceding  day, 


96          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

as  such  impressions  from  the  paucity  of  their 
associations  lend  themselves  well  to  this  purpose) . 

The  third  mechanism  may  be  called  Dramatiza- 
tion. Most  dreams  resemble  a  theatrical  perform- 
ance, and  the  mode  of  representation  employed, 
like  all  arts,  is  subject  to  definite  limitations,  so 
that  special  expedients  have  to  be  used  to  indicate 
mental  processes  which  cannot  be  directly  portrayed. 
It  is  well  known,  for  instance,  that  most  dreams 
are  predominantly  visual  in  character.  (This  pro- 
cess of  expressing  in  a  dream  various  underlying 
thoughts  in  the  form  of  visual  pictures  Freud  terms 
Regression,  wishing  to  indicate  by  this  the  retro- 
grade movement  of  abstract  mental  processes 
towards  their  primary  perceptions;  the  network  of 
dream-thoughts  is  thus  resolved  into  its  raw 
material.)  Under  this  heading  are  also  included 
various  devices  for  the  presentation  of  the  logical 
and  grammatical  relations  between  the  different 
"  dream-thoughts,"  relations  which  find  no  direct 
presentation  in  the  manifest  content  of  the 
dream. 

The  last  of  the  dream  mechanisms,  termed 
Secondary  Elaboration,  differs  from  the  other  three 
in  that  it  arises  from  the  activity  of  the  more  con- 
scious mental  processes.  The  process  often  does  not 
go  far,  but  to  it  is  due  whatever  degree  of  ordering, 
sequence,  and  consistency  there  may  be  found  in  a 
dream. 

The  dream  work  does  absolutely  nothing  but 
translate  into  a  usually  unintelligible  series  of 
hieroglyphs  a  group  of  already  formed  "  dream- 
thoughts."  It  performs  no  creative  work  whatever 
and  no  act  of  thought  (judgment,  decision,  etc.); 
these,  when  present*  have  been  taken  bodily  from 
the  "  dream-thoughts  "  and  do  not  belong  to  the 
dream  making.  It  proceeds  by  methods  quite 
foreign  to  our  waking  life,  ignoring  obvious  con- 
tradictions ,making  use  of  strained  analogies,  etc., 
in  just  the  same  way  as  an  insane  patient  does. 
There  is  much  to  say  about  the  sources  of  the 
material  used  in  the  dream-making  (as  distinct 
from  the  "  dream-thoughts  ").  In  every  dream 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION          97 

there  occurs  one  or  more  mental  processes  that  have 
been  experienced  by  the  subject  in  his  last  waking 
interval.  Hypermnesia  (remarkable  memory)  for 
experiences  of  early  childhood,  often  long  forgotten, 
is  a  striking  feature,  and  is  still  more  often  present 
in  regard  to  the  underlying  "  dream-thoughts." 
Sometimes  dream  material  is  taken  from  physical 
stimuli  during  sleep,  though  by  no  means  so  often 
as  is  generally  said.  They  never  afford  the  explana- 
tion of  the  dream  itself,  but  are  merely  material 
used  for  its  structure  in  the  same  way  as  other 
psychical  material. 

Significance  and  Function  of  Dreams.  There  next 
arises  the  question  of  the  significance  and  function 
of  the  dream,  and  the  nature  of  the  forces  that  have 
brought  it  about.  The  essence  of  Freud's  theory  is 
his  tracing  the  distortion  considered  above  to  the 
presence  of  various  "  repressing  "  inhibitions  that 
interpose  an  obstacle  to  the  becoming  conscious  of 
certain  mental  processes;  these  inhibitions  he  groups 
under  the  name  of  "  censorship/'  He  finds  that  the 
"  dream-thoughts  "  of  the  latent  content  are  always 
of  such  a  kind  as  to  be  unacceptable  to  conscious- 
ness— on  aesthetic,  social,  moral,  or  similar  grounds. 
The  individual  is  not  aware  of  their  existence, 
because  something  in  him  does  not  want  to  be; 
they  must,  therefore,  remain  "  unconscious."  The 
dream  is  a  distorted  and  unrecognizable  presenta- 
tion of  such  thoughts.  In  sleep,  the  activity  of  the 
censorship  is  diminished,  though  never  entirely 
abrogated,  and  the  manifest  dream  is  a  compromise 
between  it  and  the  forward  urge  of  the  repressed 
"  dream-thoughts."  The  censorship  can  be  evaded 
in  other  ways  than  through  the  mechanisms  of  dis- 
tortion considered  above.  For  instance,  the  ideas 
may  remain  unchanged,  but  their  meaning  is  con- 
cealed by  the  feeling  being  reversed.  The  forgetting 
of  dreams,  which  is  even  commoner  than  is  generally 
appreciated,  is  another  effect  of  the  censorship;  for 
this  reason,  the  analysis  of  previously  forgotten 
fragments  is  specially  important,  for  they  always 
relate  to  the  most  repressed  of  the  dream- 
thoughts. 

8— (1128) 


98          PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

Dreams  never  proceed  from  trifles,  but  only  from 
thoughts  that  are  of  the  greatest  moment  and 
interest  to  the  subject.  Further,  the  "  dream- 
thoughts  "  are  invariably  egocentric.  The  dreams 
of  very  young  children  are  usually  logical  and  con- 
sistent, and  it  is  then  easy  to  recognize  that  they 
represent  the  imaginary  fulfilment  of  an  ungratified 
wish;  something  denied  the  child  by  day  happens 
satisfactorily  to  him  by  night.  Freud  maintains 
that  the  latent  content  of  all  dreams,  without  excep- 
tion, represents  nothing  else  than  the  imaginary 
fulfilment  of  an  ungratified  wish,  usually  in  the 
case  of  the  adult  a  repressed  and  unconscious  wish. 
It  is  probable  that  behind  the  manifest  content  of 
a  dream  there  always  lies  an  infantile  wish.  It  goes 
without  saying,  that  among  repressed  wishes,  sexual 
ones  of  various  kinds  play  the  most  prominent  part, 
though  not  an  invariable  one.  A  dream  thus  repre- 
sents the  imaginary  fulfilment  of  a  repressed 
infantile  wish,  which  has  been  recently  stirred  into 
activity,  but  which  is  not  allowed  to  enter  conscious- 
ness except  in  a  guise  that  conceals  its  true 
meaning. 

In  conclusion,  the  function  of  dreams  appears  to 
be  simply  this,  to  protect  sleep  by  satisfying  and 
stilling  the  activity  of  aroused  unconscious  mental 
processes  that  might  otherwise  disturb  it.  Maeder, 
followed  in  this  country  by  Nicoll,  sees  other  func- 
tions in  dreams,  such  as  the  tentative  probing  of 
various  solutions  of  disturbing  problems;  but  this 
view  is  certainly  based  on  a  confusion  on  their  part 
between  the  dream  proper  and  the  latent  content 
that  underlies  it,  being  often  true  of  the  latter. 
Dreams  are  the  guardian  of  sleep,  and  the  frequent 
expression  "  sleep  disturbed  by  dreams "  only 
means  sleep  disturbed  by  unconscious  mental 
activity  which  the  dream-making  faculty  is  endeav- 
ouring, often  unsuccessfully,  to  assuage.  In  the 
case  of  a  bad  dream,  from  which  the  subject  awakes, 
the  activity  of  the  censorship,  which  is  diminished 
during  sleep,  is  insufficient  to  keep  from  conscious- 
ness the  unacceptable  dream-thoughts,  or  to  compel 
such  distortion  of  them  as  would  render  them 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION       .    99 

unrecognizable,  and  recourse  has  then  to  be  had 
to  the  accession  of  energy  that  the  censorship  is 
capable  of  exerting  in  the  waking  state;  meta- 
phorically expressed,  the  watchman  guarding  the 
sleeping  household  has  been  overpowered  by  thieves, 
and  so  has  to  wake  it  in  calling  for  help. 


100        PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION   XXIV 
PSYCHO-ANALYSIS 

PSYCHO-ANALYSIS  is  a  therapeutic  method  that 
has  been  developed  during  the  last  thirty  years 
by  Professor  Freud  of  Vienna.  Working  in  the 
first  instance  with  Dr.  Breuer  upon  hysterical 
patients,  he  found  that  the  recital  of  their  dreams 
had  a  marked  effect  upon  the  symptoms  of  these 
nervous  patients.  Further  experience  led  him  to 
conclude  that  dreams  and  neurotic  symptoms  had 
a  common  origin  in  the  unconscious  mind,  and  that 
both  were  disguised  fulfilments  of  repressed  wishes 
of  a  sexual  and  infantile  character.  The  analysis 
of  dreams  led  him  repeatedly  to  the  same  experi- 
ences, upon  the  uniformity  of  which  he  ultimately 
based  his  epoch-making  theories  of  neurosis 
and  the  unconscious  mind.  He  found  that  neurotic 
symptoms  can  always  be  traced  back  to  erotic 
impulses  of  which  the  sufferer  is  unconscious. 
He  falls  ill  at  the  moment  when  he  can  no  longer 
adapt  to  the  demands  of  the  external  world,  and 
the  symptoms  are  surrogates,  or  the  infantile 
repressed  wishes  which  his  conscious  personality 
cannot  allow  him  to  express. 

The  unconscious  mind  is  conceived  as  all  those 
mental  processes  of  which  we  are  unaware  at  a 
given  moment  Some  of  these  processes  have 
been  in  consciousness  before,  and  can  easily  be 
brought  into  consciousness  again  (the  Foreconscious), 
others  cannot  be  brought  into  consciousness 
without  some  special  technique  such  as  psycho- 
analysis or  hypnotism  (the  Unconscious  proper). 
The  unconscious  mind  owes  its  existence  to 
repression  which  has  taken  place  in  the  interests 
of  civilization  (phylogenetic  origin)  throughout 
the  ages.  This  repression  is  repeated  in  the 
experience  of  each  individual  in  the  course  of 
social  education  (ontogenetic  origin).  The  function 
of  the  unconscious  mind  in  Freud's  view  is  to 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN    EDUCATION        101 

wish,  so  that  every  evidence  of  its  activity  is 
regarded  as  an  expression  of  an  unconscious  wish. 
It  is  conceived  as  surviving  unchanged,  and  intact, 
in  every  adult  person.  Its  infantile  and  primitive 
character  is  so  incompatible  with  the  civilized 
personality  that  he  has  a  great  resistance  or  in- 
stinctive opposition  to  allowing  its  contents 
to  become  known  to  himself.  These  contents, 
however,  have  a  dynamic  tendency  to  enter  con- 
sciousness and  appear  in  the  form  of  phantasies 
and  dreams,  neurotic  or  psychotic  symptoms, 
or  in  common  everyday  mistakes,  such  as  absent- 
minded  acts,  slips  of  the  tongue  or  pen.  A  Censor 
of  Resistance  is  postulated :  this  is  a  personification 
of  the  repressing  forces,  which  forbids  direct 
expression  of  the  wish,  so  that  this  wish  can  only 
appear  in  a  distorted  symbolic  form.  The  effect 
or  emotion  belonging  to  one  idea  is  displaced  on 
another.  (See  DREAM  ANALYSIS.)  This  trans- 
ference of  emotion  from  one  idea  to  another  is  also 
typical  of  neurosis,  and  it  becomes  the  chief 
mechanism  of  the  analytic  cure.  In  the  course 
of  treatment  by  means  of  this  transference  the 
physician  serves  as  a  catalytic  for  the  unconscious 
infantile  sexuality.  The  tender  or  hostile  feelings 
which  were  originally  given  to  the  parents  as  the 
first  love-objects  (and  which  still  exist  unchanged 
in  the  unconscious  mind)  are  now  projected 
on  to  the  physician.  Hitherto  they  were  projected 
on  to  the  symptoms,  or  to  persons  in  the  environ- 
ment. What  is  unconscious  always  tends  to  be 
projected.  These  projections  are  analysed  and 
made  conscious,  by  which  means  the  libido 
("  psychic  energy,"  Jung ;  "  sexual  hunger," 
Jones),  which  was  formerly  unconsciously  at  the 
disposal  of  the  infantile  sexual  phantasies,  is  now 
placed  at  the  service  of  life,  or  reality  itself,  and 
can  be  sublimated,  that  is,  can  be  applied  to  a  non- 
sexual  or  otherwise  useful  purpose  more  in  harmony 
with  the  adult  personality. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  theories  so  sub- 
versive of  our  former  psychological  ideas  would  be 
accepted  in  their  entirety  without  criticism  or 


U)2        PSYCHOLOGY.  IN   EDUCATION 

modification.  The  only  criticism  that  has  real 
value  must  of  necessity  be  based  on  an  intimate 
contact  with  the  unconscious  mind  through  the 
method  of  dream  analysis,  which  we  owe  to  Freud's 
genius. 

Its  Development  by  the  Swiss  School.  The 
most  important  developments  have  been  con- 
tributed by  the  Swiss  School  under  the  leadership 
of  Dr.  C.  G.  Jung.  In  his  view  the  unconscious 
mind  is  not  merely  the  result  of  repression.  Instead 
of  speaking  of  the  foreconscious  and  unconscious 
he  divides  it  into  personal  and  impersonal  contents. 

The  Personal  Unconscious  contains  the  repressed 
materials  of  a  personal  nature  which  are  valid  for 
the  individual  alone,  and  which  are  the  acquisition 
of  the  individual  life,  and  comprise  the  infantile 
reminiscences.  In  addition  to  the  repressed 
materials  there  are  psychic  contents  not  yet  ready 
for  consciousness,  which  arise  from  new  com- 
binations of  the  existing  materials.  These  have 
an  energic  value  which  can  carry  them  into 
consciousness  when  required. 

The  Impersonal  or  Collective  Unconscious  com- 
prises the  instincts  and  "  archetypes  of  appre- 
hension/' or  intuitions  of  ideas.  "Just  as  the 
instincts  compel  man  to  a  conduct  of  life  which  is 
specifically  human,  so  the  archetypes  coerce 
intuition  and  apprehension  to  forms  specifically 
human "  (Jung).  Here  the  race  memories  and 
images  are  potentially  stored  as  primary  pro- 
pensities and  forms  of  thought  and  archaic  symbols, 
capable  of  being  stimulated  into  existence  in 
response  to  some  outer  need  or  inner  necessity. 
This  is  the  myth-making  or  primitive  mind.  What 
belongs  to  the  personal  and  what  to  the  impersonal 
unconscious  can  only  be  somewhat  arbitrarily 
defined;  the  latter  contents,  however,  are  universal 
and  inherited,  and  potentially  present  in  everyone. 
As  a  result  of  this  formulation  Jung  no  longer 
refers  symbolism  to  the  work  of  the  dream  censor, 
but  claims  that  it  arises  primordially.  The 
unconscious  mind  can  only  think  symbolically, 
that  is,  by  representation.  Dream  thought  is  an 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION         103 

older  form  of  thought,  and  is  a  process  of  com- 
prehension by  analogy.  The  dream  is  com- 
pensatory to  consciousness,  it  constellates  round 
the  unconscious  conflict  just  as  the  neurotic 
symptoms  do.  It  indicates  the  existence  of  other 
standards  than  the  rational  ones,  and  represents 
points  of  view  repressed  from  consciousness,  or 
not  yet  ready  for  consciousness.  Dreams  are 
schemes  or  planes  by  means  of  which  the  immediate 
new  direction  is  indicated  ;  they  are  not  to  be 
regarded  as  prophetic  in  the  popular  sense,  nor 
binding  for  any  length  of  time,  but  as  supplying 
other  points  of  view  which  modify  and  enrich 
those  actually  in  consciousness.  Neurosis,  which 
is  a  failure  in  adaptation,  shows  that  the  libido 
is  on  the  path  of  regression,  that  is,  it  is  occupied 
with  phantasies  which  bring  about  reactions  in 
life  of  an  infantile  or  inadequate  type.  Analysis 
re-establishes  a  connection  between  the  conscious 
and  unconscious  mind,  and  aims  at  restoring  the 
libido  to  conscious  control  by  detaching  it  from 
the  phantasies,  and  thus  making  it  available  for 
a  reconstructed  life.  The  new  synthesis  is  a 
resultant  of  the  conscious  and  unconscious 
psychological  processes  at  any  given  moment. 

Psycho-analysis  trains  its  students  to  bring 
conscious  evaluation  to  bear  upon  unconscious 
thinking,  and  lays  open  the  psycho-sexual  motiva- 
tions of  conduct.  Its  future  does  not  belong 
exclusively  to  the  medical  profession,  but  has  a 
marked  bearing  on  pedagogy  and  education. 
What  is  needed  by  physicians  and  teachers  alike 
is  a  deeper  psychological  insight  founded  upon 
an  appreciation  of  the  enormous  part  played  in 
life  by  unconscious  emotional  factors. 


104        PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 


SECTION   XXV 
SOCIAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

SOCIAL  Psychology  may  be  provisionally  described 
as  the  scientific  investigation  of  the  psychic  elements 
involved  in  the  causation  of  social  phenomena. 
This  description  does  not  serve  to  define  at  all 
accurately  the  province  of  social  psychology ; 
but  it  affords  a  provisional  starting  point  from 
which  we  may  reach  an  adequate  conception 
of  the  general  aim  of  the  subject  and  its 
relation  to  sociology.  The  social  psychologist  is 
concerned  primarily  with  the  examination  of  the 
processes  of  mind,  and  of  the  results  of  those  pro- 
cesses, as  affecting  the  psychic  equipment  of  the 
individual.  But  his  conclusions  are  only  important 
or  significant  in  relation  to  those  manifestations  of 
mind  which  usually  involve  reactions  of  one  indi- 
vidual upon  others;  in  other  words,  his  inquiry  is 
naturally  connected  with  conduct,  and  cannot 
properly  be  separated  from  the  investigation  of 
conduct  as  conditioned  by  mental  causes.  But 
conduct  is  not  only  a  social  phenomenon:  it  may 
be  rightly  called  the  universal  social  phenomenon. 
No  change  of  importance  occurs  in  social  life  which 
does  not  involve  conduct,  and  all  conduct  has  its 
mental  causes  and  effects,  whether  conscious  or 
unconscious.  Consequently  the  psychologist,  when 
he  passes  beyond  the  investigation  of  the  processes 
of  mind  to  the  significance  of  those  processes, 
becomes  a  social  psychologist,  whose  business  it  is 
to  make  clear  the  psychic  conditions  operative  in 
all  social  behaviour. 

The  Relation  of  Sociology  to  Social  Psychology. 
So  far,  his  field  is  seen  to  be  co-extensive  with  that 
of  the  sociologist.  It  is,  indeed,  even  wider,  if  the 
field  of  sociology  is  limited  to  the  changes  of 
structure  in  social  life,  or  of  those  elements  which 
are  more  or  less  stable,  such  as  institutions,  customs, 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN  EDUCATION        105 

traditions,  and  so  on.  For  social  behaviour  has, 
and  can  have,  no  such  limitations;  it  is  involved 
in  every  change,  whether  important  or  unimportant; 
and  the  mental  forces  are  operative  equally,  whether 
the  resulting  effects  are  stable  or  quite  transitory. 
Mental  states  and  their  determining  conditions  are 
certainly  involved  as  important  causal  factors 
whenever  laws  are  made,  or  marriage  customs  or 
ordinances  are  developed,  or  a  military  system 
comes  into  being — these  are  examples  of  changes 
in  stable  structure;  but  mental  causes  are  equally 
involved,  and  are  equally  necessary  to  a  full 
explanation,  whenever  a  member  of  society  initiates 
any  individual  activity,  whether  important  or 
trivial.  That  is  to  say,  the  psychic  factors  must 
be  taken  into  account  alike  in  the  large  group 
movements,  in  which  sociology  is  particularly 
interested,  and  in  the  infinity  of  minute  changes 
which  are  taking  place  moment  by  moment  within 
the  groups. 

But  the  psychic  factors  concerned  are  clearly 
only  a  part  of  the  sum  of  causal  elements  which 
determine  any  social  event.  Many  others,  such  as 
the  environmental  factors — geographic  or  economic 
— are  equally  important  or  even  of  prior  importance 
in  so  far  as  they  are  themselves  sometimes  respon- 
sible for  the  mental  processes  and  states  which  the 
psychologist  finds  operative  as  causes.  And  since 
the  sociologist  is  bound  to  take  into  account  the 
whole  causation  of  the  social  phenomena  which  he 
investigates,  it  is  clear  that  his  subject-matter 
possesses  a  deeper  content  than  that  of  the  social 
psychologist,  though  its  extent  may  be  actually 
narrower.  In  other  words,  although  the  field  of 
inquiry  belonging  to  the  social  psychologist  is  at 
least  as  wide  as,  and  perhaps  wider  than,  that  of 
the  sociologist,  the  latter  is  concerned  with  a  much 
fuller  content  within  that  field.  He  examines  all 
aspects  of  causation,  while  the  social  psychologist 
attends  only  to  one,  namely,  the  psychic  or  mental. 

In  relation  to  the  sociologist,  therefore,  the  social 
psychologist  is  one  among  several  social  specialists, 
providing  data  for  the  sociologist,  which  the  latter, 


106         PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

in  turn,  combines  and  correlates  with  the  data  pro- 
vided by  other  specialists  in  order  to  reach  a  full 
explanation  of  any  department  of  social  causation. 

Scope  of  Inquiry  of  the  Social  Psychologist.  But 
when  we  turn  to  the  questions — What  is  the  nature 
of  the  data  furnished  by  the  social  psychologist, 
and  by  what  methods  does  he  obtain  them  ? — we 
are  met  by  a  difficulty  due  to  the  different  claims 
put  forward  by  various  exponents  of  the  subject. 
We  are  probably  on  safe  ground  when  we  assert 
that  the  data  must  consist  primarily  of  direct 
inferences  from  the  ascertained  facts  of  individual 
psychology.  The  psychologist  proper  is  able  to  lay 
bare  the  normal  mental  equipment  of  individuals 
of  both  sexes  and  at  different  age  periods,  and  the 
frequency  and  causes  of  many  abnormal  variations 
of  such  equipment.  Passing  from  this  knowledge 
to  its  social  applications,  he  should  be  able  to 
demonstrate  the  effects  of  such  normal  or  abnormal 
behaviour  in  the  different  relationships  of  life. 
That  is  to  say,  his  aim  should  be  to  demonstrate 
how  certain  conditions  of  feeling  and  thought 
produce  those  attractions  and  repulsions,  those 
sentiments,  desires  and  attitudes,  which  cause  not 
only  the  cohesions  and  antagonisms  revealed  in 
social  life,  but  also  the  form  and  stability  of 
institutions,  and  the  aims  and  purposes  of  social 
effort.  The  explanation  of  social  habit  and  social 
character  will  be  largely  in  his  hands;  as  will  be 
the  explanation  of  the  great  and  small  changes  in 
the  relations  and  activities  of  the  social  members. 
His  starting  point  is  the  mental  equipment  of  the 
individual,  both  normal  and  abnormal;  his  method 
is  the  inductive  and  deductive  examination  of  the 
effects  of  this  equipment  in  socializing  individuals; 
in  providing  the  cohesive  tissue  of  groups;  in  deter- 
mining and  modifying  the  forms  of  relationships; 
in  predisposing  men  and  women  for  different  kinds 
of  institutions;  and  in  affecting  their  detailed 
behaviour  in  connection  with  the  different  groups, 
relations,  and  institutions. 

It  is,  therefore,  needless  to  ask  whether  the  aid 
of  the  social  psychologist  is  indispensable  to  the 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION        107 

sociologist.  Without  it,  it  is  impossible  to  explain 
at  all  how  human  beings  have  become  socialized, 
and  how  they  have  become,  or  can  become,  moral- 
ized. Without  it,  further,  nothing  but  a  one-sided 
explanation  is  possible  of  the  diverse  forms  of  social 
structure  and  of  the  varieties  of  social  and  moral 
institutions;  and,  if  inquiry  is  to  be  pushed  in  detail 
into  the  complex  field  of  social  progress,  social 
psychology  still  takes  rank  as  one  at  least  of  the 
auxiliary  social  sciences.  Other  specialists  may 
claim  a  greater  importance  (there  is  no  need  here 
to  balance  claim  against  claim);  but  if  the  indis- 
pensable character  of  social  psychology  is  some- 
times ignored,  this  is  due  to  preoccupation  with 
other  special  elements  of  social  causation — and 
perhaps,  too,  to  the  unfortunate  fact  that  the  early 
founders  of  sociology,  including  Auguste  Comte, 
were  not  in  a  position  to  appreciate  the  science  of 
psychology  at  its  true  value. 

Collective  Psychology.  But  the  claim  made  by 
some  social  psychologists  is  rather  different.  It  is 
urged  with  good  reason  that  associated  life  itself 
produces  psychic  phenomena  of  an  altogether 
unique  kind.  Owing  to  the  fact  of  association, 
modes  of  feeling  are  generated  and  transformations 
of  thought  take  place  which  must  be  regarded  as 
specific  psychic  phenomena,  and  the  investigation 
of  these  will  form  the  true  work  of  social  psychology. 
This  claim  is  sometimes  expressed  by  contending 
that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a  social  mind,  just  as 
there  are  undoubtedly  individual  minds;  and  that 
the  operations  of  the  social  mind  form  the  proper 
study  of  the  social  psychologist.  And,  as  the 
phenomena  connected  with  the  social  mind  only 
come  into  existence  when  individual  minds  are  in 
contact  in  social  groups,  the  entire  subject  begins 
after  the  work  of  the  individual  psychologist  is 
completed.  It  must,  therefore,  form  a  special  study 
largely  independent  of  psychology  as  ordinarily 
understood. 

Now,  without  denying  the  assertion  that  peculiar 
mental  phenomena  are  generated  by  the  effects  of 
association,  we  must  be  content  to  point  out  that 


108        PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

the  attempts  to  make  this  the  basis  of  a  really 
scientific  inquiry  have  hitherto  been  disappointing. 
There  has  been  much  speculation  concerning  the 
mind  of  a  crowd  and  concerning  the  soul  of  a  people; 
but  it  has  been  mere  speculation,  and  often  patently 
biased  speculation.  There  has  also  been  some 
quasi-scientific  investigation  into  the  laws  of 
imitation  and  opposition  of  ideas  in  social  groups; 
but  this  also  has  been  rather  suggestive  than  con- 
vincing. On  the  whole,  the  wisest  course  at  pre- 
sent is  to  separate  this  aspect  of  the  subject  from 
social  psychology,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  latter 
by  the  name  "  collective  psychology,"  and  to  regard 
it  as  a  much  more  speculative  and  dangerous 
department  of  the  subject.  (See  also  CLASS,  THE 
PSYCHOLOGY  OF  THE.)  E.  J.  U. 

References — 

ELL  WOOD,   C.   A.     Psychological    Aspects   of   Sociology 

(New  York). 

MCDOUGALL,  W.     Social  Psychology. 
Ross,  E.  A.     Social  Psychology  (New  York). 
TARDE,  G.     Les  Lois  de  rimitation  (Paris). 
WALLAS,  GRAHAM.     The  Great  Society. 
WOODWORTH,  R.  S.     Dynamic  Psychology. 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION         109 


SECTION   XXVI 

THE  RELATIONS  OF  ANALYTIC  AND 
GENETIC  TO  GENERAL  PSYCHOLOGY 

THE  characteristic  of  all  science  is  that  it 
deals  with  relations  that  hold  true  universally. 
Yet  psychology  can  start  only  from  the  individual 
mental  life,  for  that  only  is  open  to  imme- 
diate observation.  Here,  then,  is  the  problem 
of  general  psychology — to  set  forth  what  is 
normal  in  the  psychical  life  of  man,  to  distinguish 
what  belongs  universally  to  that  life  from  merely 
personal  peculiarities.  This  implies  that  the  first 
step  in  psychology — as  in  every  other  sphere 
of  investigation — is  analytic;  the  attempt  to 
distinguish  and  hold  apart  in  thought  features 
which  in  actual  experience  are  found  only  in 
complexes.  By  comparison  of  experience  with 
experience,  whether  in  the  life  of  one  observer 
or  in  the  lives  of  several,  what  is  common  to  them 
can  be  marked  and  named,  and  so  given  a  kind  of 
quasi-independence  for  thought. 

Life  being  immediately  known  as  activity,  the 
first  analyses  were  functional.  So  arose  Plato's 
distinctions  of  three  fundamental  springs  of 
conduct,  and  Aristotle's  more  elaborate  classifica- 
tion of  the  aspects  of  life  under  five  faculties,  a 
modification  of  which  was  the  traditional  map  of 
psychical  life  during  many  centuries.  The  object 
sought,  however,  was  not  so  much  to  gain  a  detailed 
knowledge  of  the  ever-changing  phenomena  of 
psychical  life  as  to  determine  the  nature  of  that 
life.  With  the  development  of  natural  science  came 
a  change  in  the  conception  of  knowledge.  The 
importance  attached  to  facts  enormously  increased, 
and  the  theory  of  the  universality  of  law  gathered 
strength.  When  these  conceptions  were  applied  to 
the  psychical  life,  the  content  of  consciousness 
became  the  centre  of  interest,  and  speculation  saw 


110        PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

as  its  task  the  discovery  of  universal  relations  con- 
stituting the  machinery  by  which  that  varied  and 
varying  content  is  bound  into  a  whole.  The  ideal 
both  of  result  and  of  method  was  naturally  sought 
in  the  physical  sciences.  So  the  aim  was  to  find  the 
limits  of  analysis  in  elements  which  could  not  be 
decomposed,  and  in  relations  which  could  not  be 
simplified.  The  results  found  were  sensations  and 
the  law  of  association  of  ideas.  Much  of  the  analysis 
was  of  permanent  value.  But  it  had  inherent  defects. 
It  was  limited  to  the  intellectual  contents  of  con- 
sciousness; emotion  and  volition  could  not  be  thus 
examined,  for  contemplation  of  these  modifies  them. 
They  were,  consequently,  accounted  for  as  secondary 
products  of  the  play  of  the  intellectual  elements. 
Nor  was  this  merely  an  omission  of  part  of  the  field 
which  analysis  sets  out  to  survey.  It  was  based 
on,  and  strengthened,  the  theory  that  psychical 
phenomena  are  of  the  same  nature  as  physical 
phenomena,  and  are  explicable  by  the  same  logical 
presuppositions.  It  resulted  that  the  matter  yielded 
by  the  analysis  as  the  raw  material  to  be  synthe- 
tized  in  life  was  only  a  portion,  or  rather  an  aspect, 
of  the  reality.  It  resulted,  too,  that  the  attempted 
synthesis  by  formal  processes  was  wholly  artificial, 
and  that  the  mechanical  product  was  very  different 
from  the  real  life  known  by  each  one  in  the  very 
act  of  living.  Mechanism  can  never  give  a  satis- 
factory explanation,  or  even  an  adequate  descrip- 
tion, of  life,  simply  because  life  is  the  very  thing  it 
omits  while  it  laboriously  arranges  life's  products. 
Genetic  Psychology.  The  influence  of  evolution 
gradually  brought  this  home  to  psychologists. 
The  field  for  analysis  was  seen  to  be  indefinitely 
enlarged  beyond  the  individual  consciousness,  which 
alone  is  open  to  introspective  analysis.  Further, 
life  in  all  its  manifestations  was  recognized  as  an 
operative  force,  gradually  working  its  way  towards 
more  perfect  adaptation  to  its  function  in  the  world. 
No  study  of  it  could  thereafter  be  regarded  as 
adequate  which  dealt  simply  with  a  cross-section  of 
it,  cut  through  the  stream  of  development  at  a 
moment  determined  by  the  convenience  of  the 


PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION        111 

observer.  The  problem  was  no  longer  a  mechanical 
one  of  explaining  an  existing  piece  of  machinery, 
but  an  evolutionary  one  of  tracing  the  development 
of  a  form  of  life.  So  arose  genetic  psychology, 
which  sets  itself  this  task.  Its  material  is  vast,  for 
the  new  conception  shows  the  individual  mind 
inseparable  from  the  common  psychical  life  of  the 
community  and  inexplicable  apart  from  it.  Thus, 
it  is  not  simply  the  gradual  growth  to  maturity  of 
the  individuarhuman  being  that  has  to  be  traced, 
but  also  the  development  of  the  common  mind;  and 
that  involves  careful  observation  of  mankind  at 
various  stages  of  civilization  in  the  present,  and  the 
study  of  the  products  of  man's  psychical  life  in  the 
past.  Everything  that  man  has  left  which  bears  the 
impress  of  his  mind — his  art,  his  laws,  his  literature, 
his  religion,  his  records  of  his  deeds — all  is  material 
full  of  testimony  to  his  mental  growth  if  only  the 
records  can  be  interpreted.  Consequently,  genetic 
psychology  cannot  be  isolated  from  social  psy- 
chology, for  the  psychical  life  it  has  to  follow  is  at 
once  social  and  individual. 

Nor  is  it  independent  of  analytic  psychology. 
But,  that  each  may  be  profitable  to  that  general 
psychology  of  which  we  are  in  search,  the  results 
of  analytic  psychology  must  be  recognized  as  mere 
abstractions,  whose  separation  from  each  other 
exists  only  for  thought.  The  error  of  the  traditional 
psychology  was  to  confuse  logical  complexity  with 
psychical  development.  So,  sensation,  perception, 
conception,  judgment,  inference,  were  supposed  to 
appear  in  life  just  in  that  order,  and  until  any  one 
of  them  appeared  in  clear  consciousness  it  was 
denied  existence.  Under  this  conception,  genetic 
psychology  would  aim  at  noting  the  first  distinct 
appearance  of  each  "  higher  "  mode  of  thinking. 
But  such  a  genetic  psychology  would  be  as  abstract 
as  the  analysis  from  which  it  starts.  In  actual 
psychical  life,  every  mode  of  mental  activity  is 
always  present,  and  is  implicit  or  explicit  according 
to  the  direction  of  attention.  The  task  of  genetic 
psychology  is  not  to  trace  how  a  fragment  of 
psychical  life  receives  fragmentary  additions  till  a 


112         PSYCHOLOGY   IN   EDUCATION 

complete  life  is  formed,  but  to  see  how  a  life  com- 
plete from  the  first  becomes  progressively  aware  of 
modes  of  dealing  with  its  world  which  it  implicitly 
uses  in  practice  from  the  beginning. 

References — 

BERGSON,  H.     Essai  sur  les  donnees  immediates  de  la 
conscience,   tr.    by   F.   L.    Pogson  under  title    Time 
and    Freewill    (Paris).     L' evolution  creatrice  (Paris), 
tr.  by  A.  Mitchell  under  title  Creative  Evolution. 
JAMES,  W.     Principles  of  Psychology.    Two  Vols. 
LUQUET,  G.  H.      I  dees  generates  de  psychologic  (Paris). 
MITCHELL,  W.     Structure  and  Growth  of  Mind. 
STOUT,  G.  F.     A  Manual  of  Psychology. 
WARD,  J.     Principles  of  Psychology. 
WELTON,  J.     The  Psychology  of  Education. 


Printed  by  Sir  Isaac  Pitman  6-  Sons,  Ltd.,  Bath,  England 
x— (1128) 


YA  06159 


5014.  2 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


